Some health benefits of lemons are generally well known, but not many people use this powerful fruit in their every day life, except maybe as a decoration in the fruit bowl on the kitchen table.
That’s why I’ve made this simple health guide to point out how easy it actually is to use lemons for the great majority of health and hygienic purposes, in stead of reaching for drugs to fight flue or chemicals to clean your home. Enjoy reading!
What’s Lemon All About?
It’s all about vitamin C you might think, but you would be wrong. Yes, this super important vitamin IS what made lemon famous in the past, but there’s a few more healing ingredients that has made this little yellow fellow such an appreciated fruit throughout the history. Besides being a real vitamin C treasury, lemon is rich in minerals (Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zink and Iron), group B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9), fiber, sugar (the good one) and pectin, but that’s not all either.
In fact, its healing properties depend on the specific part that’s being used:
Lemon rind (zest) contains very aromatic essential oil that’s great for aromatherapy and skincare and it’s used in cosmetic and toiletry industry,
Pulp is made of lots of soft membrane chambers containing lemon juice and this strong fluid contains well known citric acid, very healthy for our digestion,
Finally, but not less important, lemon has the so called pith, a white bitter inner rind that protects the juicy part of the fruit (pulp), but that is not its only value. The pith contains so called bioflavonoids (lat. flavus = yellow), compounds responsible for the yellow color of the zest not only of lemons, but of all citruses. Bioflavonoids are extremely healthy when it comes to elasticity of blood vessels and capillaries, but also for fighting allergies, inflammations and even cancer. In other words, when you consume lemon be sure to eat the pith even if you don’t like its bitterness.
So What are the Health Benefits of Lemons?
Cooking or drinking – From a good old lemonade, lemon cheese cake or a lemon pie, to simply a few drops over a fish or a meat steak, lemon is broadly used as a valuable culinary ingredient all over the world. More importantly, consummation on a daily basis provides body with so important vitamin C and fibers, both necessary for a healthy immune system.
Hair, face and body care – Facial sun spots, acne, pale or lifeless looking skin, dull hair, broken capillaries and even cellulite ; these are all indications for using the healing power of lemon. As a pure juice or an aromatic oil, as a treatment, a balm or a tonic, lemon can significantly improve any of these conditions, by helping you regain lost vitality, moisture and radiance.
Medical purposes – Lemon helps both by preventing, but also easing number of diseases, chronic ailments and acute conditions. Alone or combined with other powerful remedies such as apple vinegar, garlic and onion, lemon successfully fights flue, bronchitis, diarrhea, high blood pressure and cholesterol, migraine, hay fever and many more.
Household cleaning and freshening – Lemon is great ally when it comes to fighting dirt, limestone, grease or bad odors. Its main component – citric acid – resolves all the common household types of sediments and can even beat glue stains. Environment friendly and yet very strong in its action, once introduced into everyday household care, it stays there for good.
Start Your Day With Lemon – More Than Just a Lemon Juice
Ingredients
- small glass of fresh lemon juice
- one egg
- 2 fl. oz. of milk
- one table spoon of honey
Instructions
Squeeze lemons, put the juice into your blender and add the rest of the ingredients. Blend them until you get a fine creamy mixture. Pour it in the glass, sprinkle with oat flakes if you like and your healthy morning immunity booster is done!
Lemon Juice Hair Treatment
This is an old homemade hair treatment recipe for dull and lifeless looking hair.
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- 2 cups (32 fl. oz.) of water
- 2 table spoons of olive oil
Instructions
Squeeze the lemon. Add the lemon juice to the water first and olive oil after that. Make sure the mixture reaches the body temperature before applying it to your hair. Gently massage the treatment into the hair and wrap it with a towel. Leave it for 30 to 45 minutes and then wash your hair thoroughly.
More Benefits of Lemons – First Aid for Headache
Did you know that lemon rind can help you ease or eliminate your headache? The only thing you should make sure is to have the lemon that hasn’t been treated with any chemicals, since you’ll be putting the rind directly onto your temples. Now, there are two ways of doing this:
1. peel the lemon, take only the peel itself and massage your temples with the outer (yellow) side of it or – the essential oil will do the job 🙂
or
2. peel the lemon, but peel the pith too, so that the rind is left yellow from the inside too and then massage your temples with this inner side – the effect of oil penetrating your skin is pretty much the same
Note: maybe that’s understandable, but there’s no harm in mentioning it – wash the lemon thoroughly before peeling it 🙂
