A fruit like lemon is known to almost everyone. The question of its benefits is not at all worth it: when we are overcome by a cold, then the first thing we do is start drinking tea with lemon. But this is far from his only area of application. Next, we consider in more detail the beneficial properties of lemon juice, and also dwell on the negative impact that it can have.
What is a lemon
This fruit has a rather rich composition, it has almost everything, from proteins to fiber. Such a mineral composition and a huge amount of vitamins can not be found in all fruits. Lemon contains:
- A large amount of ascorbic acid.
- Vitamins: E, PP, Group B.
- A large number of mineral salts, among which: salts of calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium.
- Trace elements: iron, zinc, manganese, boron, phosphorus, sulfur and many others.
- Organic acids: malic, citric.
- Pectin.
- Essential oils.
- Proteins, fats and sugars.
Even the zest of this fruit can be of great benefit, given that it includes:
- Essential oils.
- Pectin substances.
- Flavonoids.
- Vitamins A, B, C, D, PP.
Here is such a rich composition of lemon and lemon juice, the harm and benefits will be discussed below.
Lemon and its beneficial properties
Each time, while drinking tea with lemon, we don’t think that this fruit has a wide range of useful properties:
- It has antioxidant properties that prolong the life and youth of a person.
- Lemon has pronounced antiseptic and antibacterial properties.
- This fruit is able to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
- It has an antisclerotic property.
- It has a tonic and activating effect, thereby increasing efficiency.
- Increases immunity.
- Lemon makes our vessels more elastic.
- It has an antiemetic effect.
- Helps to get rid of sand in the kidneys.
- Lemon will help future mothers cope with toxicosis.
- It also has a mild laxative effect due to increased intestinal motility.
This is the effect of lemon on the human body. But what exactly is lemon juice itself? Harm and benefit, its properties will be discussed later. Although, by and large, these are almost identical concepts.
Lemon zest and its benefits
Lemon is a fruit in which all parts are healthy. Lemon zest, for example, has an equally rich composition, therefore it also has a positive effect on health. It has in its composition substances that have pronounced antibacterial activity, therefore, if you chew a slice of zest with a cold that starts, and even use lemon juice, the harm and benefits of which will be discussed below, then it will be faster to defeat the impending ailment.
It turns out that in the zest of ascorbic acid is much more than in the pulp of lemon. The benefits of the zest are as follows:
- With regular use, it can be considered an excellent prophylactic that prevents the development of oncology.
- Due to the large amount of calcium, the use of zest can stop the development of osteoporosis or inflammatory processes in the joints.
- Helps to remove radionuclides.
- Chewing the zest helps strengthen the gums.
- When used in cosmetic masks, the skin is cleansed and wrinkles are reduced.
The positive effects of lemon
Many people have a question, but what else is the use of lemon? You can answer it for a long time, but we list the most important thing:
- It has a positive effect on the functioning of the immune system.
- Lemon helps protect yourself from the development of atherosclerosis.
- Helps to avoid problems with the urinary system.
- It will help with a violation of cerebral circulation.
- Accelerates metabolic processes.
- Soothes the nervous system.
- Helps to get rid of inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity and throat.
- Permanent assistant in the fight against colds.
- When combined with garlic, you can perfectly clean the blood vessels.
- With regular use of lemon, headache is less of a concern.
It has a no less rich composition and lemon juice, the benefits for the human body from its use are also great.
The beneficial effects of lemon juice
In the juice of this fruit is a huge amount of ascorbic acid, which is the main remedy against scurvy. Currently, this disease is quite rare, but the main benefit of lemon juice is as follows:
- If in the autumn-winter period you regularly drink a cocktail with lemon juice, then no viral and infectious diseases will be scary, as the body's resistance to these ailments is significantly increased.
- The beneficial properties of lemon juice help to recover faster after injuries and fractures.
- Helps to survive the cold winter, as it increases the body's resistance to low temperatures.
- It has a beneficial effect on rheumatism and tuberculosis.
- Drinking juice lowers the threshold of pain sensitivity.
- Its rich composition helps prevent hemorrhages, reduces manifestations of hypertension.
- Should be considered if lemon juice is taken, the benefits and harms, for the kidneys for example. This is an excellent tool to combat urolithiasis. The acid in the fruit is capable of dissolving uric acid.
- Lemon juice is an excellent remedy for rickets.
- Helps cleanse the body of excess cholesterol.
Quite often, you can find tips in the literature recommending drinking lemon juice on an empty stomach. The benefits and harms of this procedure are to some extent equivalent, since this drink is by no means suitable for everyone. So, if you start the day with a glass of water with lemon juice, you can activate the intestines, effectively cleanse the body. But it is also necessary to take into account contraindications to such a procedure. These primarily include many gastrointestinal diseases.
As a result, we can conclude that lemon is a fruit that can be consumed whole without a trace and not to doubt its enormous benefits.
The negative effect of lemon juice on the body
We must not forget that any product can cause harm to the body, and lemon juice, this also applies:
- Since lemon belongs to citrus fruits, no one has canceled the possibility of developing allergic reactions.
- The use of pure lemon juice is fraught with destruction of tooth enamel, so it is advisable to dilute it with water and rinse your mouth after use.
- A large amount of acid in the juice can be irritating to the gastric mucosa, especially if there are inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
To reduce the negative impact, it is better to use lemon juice with honey. The benefits and harms of it will then be truly disproportionate.
Who is contraindicated in taking lemon juice
The ratio of harm and benefit from the use of lemon juice depends on the correctness of its use, but there is a category of people who are better to refrain from drinking it:
- Patients diagnosed with gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer.
- The presence of pancreatitis or chronic gastritis is also a contraindication.
- With high blood pressure, juice should be taken with great care.
- Inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity require delayed therapy with lemon juice, since it has an irritating effect, which will only intensify pain.
- Do not give lemon juice to babies up to three years, this can adversely affect the condition of the gastric mucosa.
Therefore, in order to reduce the negative effects of lemon juice on the body, it is necessary to take it correctly.
Rules for the use of lemon juice
There are several recommendations for the use of lemon juice:
- Given its acid, it is not recommended to drink it in its pure form, it is necessary to dilute it with water or juice of other fruits.
- In order to prevent colds, add lemon juice to cocktails or mix with boiled water in the ratio: a glass of water and juice from half a lemon.
- In the presence of infectious diseases, you can make a drink from the juice of the third part of lemon, 200 ml of warm water and a teaspoon of honey. It is advisable to use such a remedy at night.
If you take lemon juice on an empty stomach according to the rules (the benefits and harms of the drink are discussed above), then there is no doubt that only positive effects will be exerted on the body.
Cooking juice at home
As a rule, lemon juice is not purchased ready-made, since it is quite real and quite simple to cook at home. There are two ways:
- Making juice with a juicer. The benefit is now a huge number of such devices. For the process, it is necessary to peel the lemon from the zest, cut and lower it into a juicer. After a couple of minutes, the healing drink is ready.
- If there is no juicer, you can prepare the juice manually. To do this, you can cut the fruit in half and squeeze the juice using a table fork. There is a second way: you need to peel the lemon, finely chop it, place in cheesecloth and squeeze the juice.
The method of preparation does not affect the quality of the juice.
Areas of application for lemon juice
Due to its properties, lemon juice finds its application in many areas:
- Low calorie content allows the use of lemon juice for weight loss.
- Many recipes involve the use of lemon juice.
- Yogis are advised to use it to cleanse the body.
- This is an excellent tool in the fight against freckles and excessive pigmentation.
- By adding juice to cosmetics, you can eliminate the oily sheen of the skin, ensure the supply of nutrients and vitamins.
- Masks based on lemon juice help get rid of skin problems, such as acne.
- You can also make your smile snow-white with lemon juice. To do this, just a couple of times a week to the paste when brushing your teeth add a drop of a healing product.
- Why buy expensive anti-scale products if you can use lemon juice?
- Cleaning porcelain or metal utensils with lemon juice is also not a problem.
- Lemon juice will help get rid of stains of coffee, tea or fruit juice.
- The juice of this fruit will save cutting boards or other kitchen utensils from an unpleasant odor.
- You can whiten your skin after dirty work in the country or sorting berries by wiping them with a slice of lemon.
We learned a lot about lemon juice, the harm and benefits considered, but you still need to know some of the subtleties of choosing and storing the fruit.
Important Tips
It must be remembered that many of the compounds that make up the lemon are quite unstable, so you need to remember some recommendations for making juice, storing it and choosing the fruit itself.
- If you decide to take lemon juice, the harm and benefit will depend on the quality of the fruit, including. It is advisable to choose lemons with a thin skin, this is a guarantee that there are fewer different chemicals.
- The most useful lemons collected in the winter, as the concentration of active substances at this time is greater.
- To saturate your body with useful vitamins and minerals as much as possible, you need to take the juice immediately after preparation.
- To maximize the preservation of nutrients, lemon juice must be squeezed into a ceramic, glass or enameled dish.
Here is such a magical and healing drink this lemon juice. The harm and benefits of it were discussed in detail in our review. And in the end, it remains only to recommend using this healing drink as often as possible to improve your health.