15 Reasons To Eat More Lemons & Limes
Sure, the add a tart splash of flavor to your favorite foods.
But did you know these inexpensive, easy-to-find fruits
may also help protect against some cancers?
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Add a Dash of Flavor
- Whether you squeeze the juice into water or onto a tasty fish dish, these tangy citrus treats provide you with the same vitamins & minerals as other citrus fruits.
- The best part: They do it with less sugar.
Keep Wrinkles at Bay
- It’s all that vitamin C, which is also known as ascorbic acid.
- Your body can’t create it, so you have to get it from food.
- It helps make collagen, which keeps your skin springy & full.
- Without enough, it’ll start to wrinkle.
- Sure, that’s also a natural part of aging, but you can slow it down with the right vitamins & nutrition.
Rev You Up
- Thiamin & riboflavin, part of a group of vitamins called B complex, turn your food into the
energy you need. - They also help the cells in your body to grow & do their jobs.
- Just one medium sized lemon or lime gives you a small portion of what you need every day.
Serve Up Antioxidants
- Vitamin C, flavonoids, phenolic acids, essential oils & coumarins are all plentiful in lemons
& limes. - They’re part of a team of superhero substances called antioxidants.
- They band together to fight the bad guys,free radicals,which damage your cells & lead to diseases & other health problems.
Help Your Baby Grow
- They have a small amount of a B vitamin called folic acid or folate.
- It helps little ones form in the womb.
- Cells use it to divide to make more cells.
- It also creates genetic material in both your bodies that tells your baby's cells how to
build his body.
Kill Nasty Bugs
- Their high acid content adds the perfect sour bite to your salad greens.
- It also helps kill salmonella bacteria that might be on your food, your cutting board or
your kitchen counter. - That might be the difference between a pleasant evening & a long, long night.
- Don’t plan on scrubbing the bathroom with it, but if you want to make sure your greens
are clean, a half vinegar, half lemon juice mix should zap most of the bacteria in about
15 minutes.
Lower Blood Pressure
- Both the juice & the peel of lemons or limes can do the trick.
- Squeeze some in your water before & after you go for a walk.
- You may get more benefit from each.
- Talk to your doctor if you take blood pressure drugs or other meds.
- Citrus can interfere with them. Never adjust medication unless the doctor tells you to.
Prevent Cancer
- While there’s no evidence that lemons or limes can fight cancer you already have, they’re
full of antioxidants that may help keep you from getting it in the first place. - This is particularly true for cancer of the liver, bone, stomach, breast & colon.
Pump Up Your Heart
- It’s all about those flavonoids.
- Work more of them into your life & you’re less likely to get heart disease.
- That’s partly because they help keep the fats & sugars in your blood at healthy levels.
- Too much of either is bad for your blood vessels.
Boost Your Brain
- Lemons & limes have special chemicals that may keep brain cells safe from toxic
substances in your body. - And because they also protect against general cell breakdown & inflammation, they
may help prevent brain diseases like Parkinson’s disease & Alzheimer’s.
Keep Gums Healthy
- Swollen, bleeding gums & loose teeth are signs of scurvy.
- It was common long ago when people didn’t have easy access to foods with vitamin C.
- But you could get it now if you’re older, a smoker, have a low income or are addicted to drugs or alcohol.
- Before you chow down on citrus to prevent it, know this: 1. Citric acid is good for what ails you but bad for tooth enamel.
2. Wait at least 30 minutes after you eat or drink something with acid before you brush your teeth.
Get You Over That Cold
- It’s a myth that the vitamin C in lemons & limes will prevent a cold.
- But you do need it to keep your immune system running at peak levels.
- Taking it at the first sign of the sniffles may help you feel better faster.
Improve Your Cholesterol
- A daily mixture of garlic & lemon juice could be good news for people with high
cholesterol. - Unhealthy levels are linked to hardening of the arteries which your doctor
calls it atherosclerosis which can cause heart disease, heart attacks & strokes.
Lose Weight -- Maybe
- Polyphenols, a special kind of antioxidant found in lemons & limes, may hold off weight
& body fat gain. - Scientists think these substances change the way your body processes fat & improve its response to insulin.
- But before you load up on lemon water, know that this study was done on mice, not people.
Prevent Kidney Stones
- If you’ve ever had one of these painful little rocks block the tubes you use to pee, chances
are you’re already halfway to the local lemonade stand. - The stones form when minerals in your body clump together.
- Substances called citrates in lemons, limes, and other citrus fruits can help stop this
buildup.
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