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Health Benefits of Lemons and Lemonade
- Written by : Healthpind Staff
- Reviewed by: Mónica Sayuri Ramos Imuro
Lemons are a versatile and popular fruit. You may eat them in slices, drink refreshing lemon water, make lemonade and tea, or use their juice and peels in cooking. Worldwide they are used to add flavor to food. They have such a refreshing scent and zest that they add flavor to many sauces, salads, and drinks. Lemons are a source of vitamin C, citric acid, and many minerals. They have many phytoactive substances, which are potent antioxidants and are beneficial to your health. The health benefits of lemons are so many.
Along with its apparent culinary use, lemons are also used in many traditional medicines for a long time. They can help you lose weight, promote your cardiovascular health, and protect you from kidney stones. Due to antibacterial properties, they protect you from infections. Lemon juice can act as a digestive and detoxifying agent and cleanse your body from various toxins
Here are some evidence-based health benefits of Lemons:
Health benefits of lemons include Prevention from Kidney Stones
During metabolism, there is a generation of various by-products in your body. Sometimes, these products may crystalize in the kidneys, leading to the formation of kidney stones. One of the most common substances which result in kidney stones is calcium oxalate. These are quite widespread, and people who once have them often repeatedly get them. Lemon contains citrate in abundance, which helps get rid of oxalate stones. It prevents calcium from binding with other compounds and protects you from stones. Citric acid may increase the urine volume and pH, creating an environment unfavorable for stone formation in the kidney. [1]
About half a cup of lemon juice daily (4 ounces or 125 ml) may give you enough citric acid to prevent stone formation if you already have them. [2]
Drinking lime water can help you lose weight.
The health benefits of lemons include their role in weight loss. Scientific Research in animals has demonstrated that polyphenol antioxidants present in lemons can significantly decrease weight gain. A research study in 2008 confirmed that animals who ate lemon peel phenols and a fat-rich diet for 12 weeks had less weight gain than those who had fatty food without lemons.[3]
There is not enough research on humans. Although the exact mechanism of weight loss is still unclear, the evidence clearly says that lemon water helps in weight loss. In a Korean study, a group of obese women had a lemon detox diet for seven days, while another group had a regular diet. The group with a lemon detox diet experienced improvements in body weight and waist-hip ratio compared to those on the regular diet. [4]
Protect you from Anemia.
Anemia is a decreased count of red blood cells or a lowered quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. It may occur for different reasons, but iron deficiency is one of the chief causes. Anemia is more common in children and adolescent girls. Learn about iron deficiency anemia.
Anemia occurs most commonly if you cannot get sufficient iron from your food. Your body can easily absorb iron ions from animal sources(meat, fish ). Still, it is slow from plant sources(spinach, lentils). However, lemon’s Vitamin C and citric acid can improve iron absorption from plant sources. Squeezing lemon juice onto a salad containing lentils and spinach leaves can help you maximize the intake of iron and vitamin C. They primarily prevent iron deficiency anemia by improving its absorption from plant foods. [5]
Lemons can reduce certain Cancer risks.
Scientific evidence suggests that eating a diet rich in fresh citrus fruits like lemons may protect you from certain cancers. [6] [7] Lemons contain many phytoactive substances that can help your body cells fight cancer. D-limonene, a compound contained in lemons, seems to have some anticancer properties. The compounds such as beta-cryptoxanthin and Hesperidin, also found in lemons, can prevent the development of malignant tumors in the tongue, colon, and lungs. [8]
The lemon also contains the right amount of vitamin C, a potent antioxidant. Antioxidants can protect you from various oxidative stress-related cell damage, including cancers.
It helps to keep your heart healthy.
Lemons are a rich source of vitamin C (31 mg from one lemon). Lemons can protect you from heart disease and stroke. The phytoactive Hesperidin contained in lemons can lower cholesterol levels. In addition to vitamin C and citrate, lemons are a rich fiber source, which is beneficial for the heart. One study demonstrated that a daily intake of 24 grams of citrus fiber extract for a month lowers the body’s total blood cholesterol levels. [9]
Lime water promotes hydration.
You must drink at least (2 liters) 8 glasses of water daily for a healthy life. Plain water is the finest drink to keep you hydrated. But sometimes, you might find it challenging to sustain the motivation of drinking that much water. Adding lime to water can add a flavor to it. Lime can induce you to drink more water by enhancing its taste. Mix a pinch of rock salt with lime water to make it more tasty and refreshing.
- PubMed
Quantitative assessment of citric acid in lemon juice, lime juice, and commercially-available fruit juice products - PubMed
Dietary manipulation with lemonade to treat hypocitraturic calcium nephrolithiasis - Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition
Lemon Polyphenols Suppress Diet-induced Obesity by Up-Regulation of mRNA Levels of the Enzymes Involved in β-Oxidation in Mouse White Adipose Tissue - PubMed
Lemon detox diet reduced body fat, insulin resistance, and serum hs-CRP level without hematological changes in overweight Korean women - PubMed
The effects of fruit juices and fruits on the absorption of iron from a rice meal - PubMed
Citrus fruit intake and breast cancer risk: a quantitative systematic review - PubMed
Citrus fruit intake and stomach cancer risk: a quantitative systematic review - PubMed
Citrus fruit intake and pancreatic cancer risk: a quantitative systematic review - PubMed
The effect of fruit and vegetable intake on risk for coronary heart disease
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