Lemon - an 'alkalizing powerfood'

10 October, 2012

With innumerable health and cosmetic benefits, lemon is known as powerfood. Ayurveda treats lemon as a valuable fruit and admires its properties.

MANY OF us love the flavour of lemon, but we still don't know the exact difference between lemon and lime. Both lemon and lime are very familiar but the major difference between the two is their colour, shape and origin. Lemon is yellow in colour, round in shape and found in China and India, whereas lime is green in colour, somewhat oval in shape and mostly found in south east Asia.

The health benefits that are associated with lemon are innumerable. The lemon tastes acidic but it leaves an alkaline residue in the body and helps in balancing the acidic conditions in the body and hence is known as alkalizing powerfood. The health benefits of lemon are:

Lemons are rich source of vitamin C, so can be used for the treatment of scurvy. They fight against infections and also help in production of WBCs and antibodies, which help in strengthening the immune system.

It is a good antioxidant and helps in deactivating the free radicals and prevents us from diseases like cancer and heart strokes.

Lemon helps to increase the good cholesterol level and reduces the bad cholesterol levels and helps in lowering the blood pressure.

Lemon is anti-carcinogenic and is found useful to lower the rates of prostate, colon and breast cancers. It also prevents the formation of nitrosamine in the gut.

Lemon juice in hot water helps in purifying the liver and clears the digestive system.

It a natural skin bleach, which helps in reducing the pigments and decreases the risk of chemical allergic reactions.

We always have a misconception that lemon juice increases the cold, but lemon juice is useful for the prevention of common cold.

Urinary tract infections like gonorrhea can be prevented and treated by using lemon juice.

It is also used as a topical agent to prevent the poison and pains of bites and stings of certain insects.

Lemon is used as a soothing agent when it is applied with glycerin.

Lemon juice taken with salt every morning is helpful in reducing cholesterol levels and also brings weight down.

It is a good mouthwash, as it whitens the teeth, removes plaque and strengthens the enamel.

Lemon juice is also used to prevent and cure osteoarthritis.

These are some of the numerous health benefits of lemon, but the question is how much of lemon should be consumed? This purely depends on the health and weight of the person, if you weigh less than 70 kg then it is advisable to take half of a lemon, but if you are above 70 kg, than you can consume whole lemon. For maximum benefits, it is good to take it twice a day.