when life give you lemons... say YAY!!

My third health installation for January is going to be about Lemons :)

You may already know of a few of these benefits but I promise you this will be worth the read!

The health benefits of lemons are due to its many nourishing elements like vitamin C, vitamin B6, vitamin A, vitamin E, copper, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus and protein. Lemon contains antioxidants and cancer fighting properties.

 

 

 

The juice of a lemon helps with the following:

·         Skin Care: One of my main uses of Lemon juice. It can help exfoliate and lighten dark spots on your face, body, hands and feet. Apply the lemon juice to your dark spots using a cotton swab or ball. Rinse after 15 minutes or once the lemon juice dries. Avoid the sun during this time. Using lemon juice on old burns can help fade the scars.

 

Being a natural antiseptic medicine, the juice can be applied to reduce the pain of sun burn and bee stings, since lemon is a cooling agent. It is also good for acne and eczema. It acts as an anti-aging remedy and can remove wrinkles and blackheads. Drinking lemon juice mixed with water and honey brings a healthy glow to the skin.

·         Hair Care: Lemon juice has proven itself in the treatment of hair care on a wide scale. The juice applied to the scalp can treat problems like dandruff and hair loss. It can also be used to lighten hair in the Sun (mix with oil to keep your hair from drying out).  

·         Dental Care: If fresh lemon juice is applied on the area of a toothache, it can assist in getting rid of the pain. Massaging the juice on the gums can stop gum bleeding, while eliminating the bad odours that can come from various gum diseases. Additionally, it can be used in the regular cleansing of your teeth (add a drop of its juice onto your normal toothpaste). Be careful, lemons are highly acidic, so if your mouth starts burning, rinse your gums and mouth quickly with water. It can also cause enamel erosion so make sure to rinse well!

·         Immune System: Lemon is packed with vitamin C, which can help boost the immune system. One lemon contains a whopping 187% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. It also helps increase your energy levels due to the presence of other essential vitamins and minerals.

·         Fever: Lemon juice helps to break fevers by increasing perspiration.

·         Indigestion and Constipation: Add a few drops of lemon on your dish and it will aid in digestion. It acts as a blood purifier and a cleansing agent for your tummy. Whenever you have a heavy lunch or dinner, drink lemon juice mixed with soda water (add crushed mint leaves and honey for flavour). Eat the little lemon wedge that comes with your drink at a restaurant. It’s great for you!

·         Internal Bleeding: It has antiseptic and solidifying properties, so it can stop internal bleeding. You can apply lemon juice to a small cotton ball and place it inside your nose to stop nose bleeds (will definitely be trying this!).

·         Weight Loss: I think we all know this one! Drinking lemon juice mixed with lukewarm water, increases the metabolism which helps reduce body weight.

Special Tip: Lemon water is perfect to take with you and sip all day.

·         Detox: The enzymes in lemons help stimulate liver functions and aid in the elimination of wastes from your body. It will also suppress your appetite so you are more successful and have fewer cravings while on your detox or cleansing plan.

·         Respiratory Disorders: Lemon juice assists in relieving respiratory problems and breathing problems, such as asthma and throat infections. The lemons are a powerful antiseptic and can kill bacteria in the body that makes you ill and causes a build-up of mucus.

·         Blood Purifier: Diseases like cholera and malaria can be treated with lemon juice (as an aid).

·         Arthritis: It is also a diuretic and can treat rheumatism and arthritis. It helps to flush out bacteria and toxins from the body.

·         Kidney and Gall Stones: Lemon juice can dissolve lumps on the skin, so it can be applied at the places where the skin has hardened up, like the soles of feet and the palms of your hands. Drinking lemon juice with water can help patients reduce stones for the same reasons.

·         High Blood Pressure: Drinking lemon juice is helpful for people suffering from heart problems, because it contains potassium. It controls high blood pressure, dizziness, and nausea, because it provides a calming sensation to both the mind and body. It is commonly employed to reduce mental stress and depression.

·         Type 2 Diabetes: Consuming the soluble fibre found in lemons helps stabilize your blood glucose levels and keep them within a healthy range by helping your body to slow down its absorption rate of sugars.

 

So those are some wonderful uses of lemon juice, but wait, don’t throw away those peels just yet!

Uses of Lemon peels:

Lemon peels contain about 5 to 10 times more vitamins than lemon juice! Remember, organic will be your best bet when consuming the peel to avoid eating any pesticides.

Culinary

·         Lemon Zest: you can freeze this and always have it on hand when needed. It’s a common ingredient in both sweet and savory dishes.

·         Also use the peels to make Lemon Pepper, Candied Lemon, Lemon Olive Oil, Lemon Extract or Herb-Lemon Zest Butter. There are recipes for these and many other delicious treats online.

·         Adding some lemon peel (with traces of pulp removed) to your brown sugar can help keep it moist and easy to use.

Cleaning

·         All-purpose cleaner. Also known as lemon vinegar, this stuff is awesome at cutting grease and disinfecting. To make, simply place a bunch of lemon peels in any sized glass jar. Pour white vinegar over. Put the lid on and let it sit for 2 weeks (I promise, it’s worth the wait). Then strain the liquid. Combine this with water (using a 50/50 ratio) and then use as you would your normal cleaner.

·         Get rid of ants and pests. Place small slices of lemon peel along thresholds, windowsills, door entrances, or near cracks or holes where ants or pests are lurking about. Lemons are also effective against roaches and fleas.

·         Place a lemon peel or two inside your fridge to absorb smells and bring a bright citrus scent.

·         Throw a few lemon peels in the bottom of the can. This will also help absorb odours and keep things smelling fresh.

·         You’ll make your house smell heavenly simply by adding lemon peels to simmering water. Throw in some cloves and cinnamon sticks. This adds a wonderful scent and humidifies the air.

·         Make your pots shiny and new. I’ve tried this and the results are amazing! Boil water with some lemon slices and it will remove all those dark stains in your pot.

·         Add lemon peels to your dishwasher every now and then to help rinse and deodorize it.

·         Bake discarded lemon peels until they darken. These create natural, fragrant firelighters. So cool, and great for your braai-aholics!

Beauty & Body

·         Pop them in your blender to make a fantastic skin scrub or mask. Can help lighten age spots. Apply the affected area and leave on for an hour. (I’d avoid too much sun exposure while it’s on your face.)

·         Whiten fingernails by rubbing with a lemon wedge.

·         Suck on a slice of lemon to help you stop feeling nauseous.

·         Use a half lemon sprinkled with baking soda on dry elbows; just place your elbow in the lemon and twist the lemon (as if you are juicing it) for several minutes. Rinse and dry.

·         Rub your teeth with the outer shell (the inner side touching your teeth) of a lemon after removing the juice. Helps with whitening.

·         Eating lemon peel can help decrease the body’s cholesterol level which in turn can promote better heart health. In addition, the potassium found in the peel can help maintain blood pressure levels.

·         Two of the nutrients in lemon peel are limonene and Silvestro Q40 and both fight cancerous cells. In addition, the flavonoids that can be found in the peel can help counter cancerous cell division.

·         Eating lemon peel has shown to help prevent osteoarthritis, inflammatory polyarthritis, bone fractures, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis because of its calcium and Vit C content.

·         Lemon peels have all the same benefits as its juice listed above: boosts immunity, metabolism, digestion, oral health, weight loss, skin, eradicates toxins, cleansing the liver, helps with ear infections, improves blood circulation, reduces muscle contractions, prevents strokes, etc.

The best way to consume lemon peels are to freeze them and crush them over your food.

Fun fact: Lemon is classified as a fruit, mainly because it has seeds.

That’s it from me today. Now you understand why when life throws you lemons, you should say YAY!

♡, Sana xx