Lemons are one of the tastiest and most useful fruits around. Bright yellow in colour and with a wonderfully sharp flavour, they come in handy across a whole range of cuisines. So versatile are they, that you will find lemons used in every major cuisine globally, from Italian to Indian and French. Growing on lemon trees, they have also been used throughout history for the flavour they contain. Lemons are not only popular due to the great taste they bring to food or drink though. This amazing fruit also has many great health benefits for humans.
When it comes to power-packed fruits, lemons top the list with their myriad health benefits. Known globally as a type of citrus fruit, these yellow wonders are more than just a pantry staple and a flavor enhancer in our beloved cocktails. Their therapeutic properties are an open secret, providing innumerable benefits to one’s well-being. But this raises a question, is it safe to eat lemons every day?
The simple answer is yes. Incorporating lemons into your daily diet can do wonders for your health, and here’s why. Packed with Vitamin C, these vibrant citrus fruits are a powerhouse of essential nutrients that can fortify your immune system, improve skin health, aid in digestion, and much more. Their tangy flavor is just a bonus to their overall health benefits.
Here are the ten most awesome health benefits of lemons to ponder.
10 – Packed Full Of Vitamin C
It is reported that one lemon packs in about 31mg of Vitamin C. This makes it one of the best fruits for Vitamin C concentration and leaves it only just behind oranges in this regard. Vitamin C is a very important thing for us to consume regularly as humans which makes lemons great for our health. Getting enough of this key vitamin helps to keep our immune system strong to fight off illness while also making us feel energetic and mentally alert. By eating lemons and using it in cooking, we can boost our health greatly.
09 – Great For Heart Health
As noted above, lemons give us 31mg of Vitamin C – this equates to about half of the amount we need daily. In addition to the benefits this brings as shown above, it is great for keeping your heart healthy too. Consuming lemons can help reduce your risk of a stroke or heart disease and protect your overall health. It is not only Vitamin C in lemons which looks after your heart. The fibre and plant compounds present in the fruit are thought to help reduce your risk of heart disease as well. Studies have shown that the main positive impact in terms of heart health is a lowering of cholesterol which compounds in lemons lead too.
08 – Lemons Can Help With Weight Loss
Another very positive health benefit which having lemons in your diet could lead to is weight loss. You may have heard this mentioned in the media as it has been widely reported. The main theory in this area suggests that the pectin fibre in lemons expands when in your stomach to fill you up for longer. This natural stops you from eating as much or snacking, thus leading to weight loss. Other studies have shown that drinking hot water with lemon could help here too. This might be down to the water rather than the lemon though as water is known to help increase the calories you burn.
07 – Lemons Could Prevent Kidney Stones
Kidney stones can be a very problematic health issue for some people. They occur when waste products crystalize and form small lumps which build up in your kidneys. They are often more common than you would think and can be a recurring problem for sufferers. It is though that citric acid which lemons contain can help prevent these stones from forming. The citric acid is believed to increase urine volume and also increase the pH of urine to stop the stones forming initially.
06 – Can Keep Anemia At Bay
A fairly common medical condition for some people is iron deficiency – or anemia to give it its popular name. This basically happens when your body does not take enough iron from the food you consume. Although lemons do contain some iron, this is not how they help prevent anemia. Instead, this fruit actually helps you absorb more iron out of other foods to help you stop being deficient in it. This is particularly helpful for aiding iron extraction from plant-based foods which is hard. With lemons having so much citric acid and vitamin C in them, they are great for taking more iron out of your food.
05 – Can Help Reduce Risk of Cancer
More and more evidence is starting to show that eating a balanced diet which is rich in fruit and veg might help prevent some forms of cancer. It is suggested that certain compounds found in lemons, such as D-limonene and naringenin, have anti-cancer effects. Eating lemons or including them in your food therefore could aid your body in preventing some types of cancer. It is also thought that compounds like hesperidin and beta-cryptoxanthin can stop malignant tumours from developing.
04 – Gut Health Positively Affected
More focus is being put on gut health in the modern age and how key it is to our overall well-being. It is thought that the state of your gut and the good bacteria found there can have a significant impact on how well other key parts of your body function. Lemons contain something called soluble fibre on the form of pectin. This type of fibre is great for your gut health and helps slow the rate at which sugars or starches are digested. The other positive benefit of this is that it can lead to reduced blood sugar levels.
03 – Superb Aroma To Lift Mood
It is not only your physical health which lemons can be good for. Your mental health can be given a lift just from the gorgeous smell this fruit has. The zingy, bright, refreshing smell of lemons instantly energizes you while also making you feel happy. By having them in your home and using them in your cooking, you can get the mental health benefits that their aroma brings. Even some lemon oil to burn can give the same effects!
02 – Can Help Make Healthy Foods Taste Better
As noted above, it is key to eat a healthy, varied diet full of the right foods to be healthy. The problem for many people is that the right foods often do not taste good! This means that they miss out on having them in favour of processed or sugary foods which taste nicer. Lemons can help here by making healthy foods like salad or spinach taste much better. By making them more palatable, they help to ensure you eat more of the right stuff and stay in better shape.
01 – Superb For Healthy Skin
Smooth, acne free skin is something we all love to have but for some people this is not always the case. Lemons can actually be a great natural way to combat acne or problem skin though. The high Vitamin C levels work to boost the bodies immune system and help it to fight back against the bacteria causing acne. The citric acid in lemons helps to reduce the production of sebum while the antiseptic qualities of lemon helps to kill acne off at source
While you might have thought lemons were just nice to eat before, now you know just how great they are for your health too. It really is worth making this superb tasting fruit a regular part of your diet to get the most from them. Although drinking lemon juice can bring some benefits, most experts agree that eating the whole fruit is the best way to get maximum results.
But remember, while it’s safe to eat lemons every day, it’s important to do so in moderation. Overconsumption can lead to stomach upsets due to their high acidity. To ensure you reap all the benefits without any adverse effects, try to include lemons in a balanced manner in your diet.