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Health benefits of lemons, popularly called nimbu in India, have been explored and discussed ages ago across the world. The Egyptians used them as a natural healer, the ancient Greeks used them as a disinfectant while the Romans used them to cure various ailments. Today, however people use them only as a seasoning ingredient to add extra flavour and twist to different recipes. Here's how lemons actually make your recipes healthy and nutritious.
1# Aids digestion: Lemon is highly acidic in nature, helping the process of digestion. The pectin content in lemon ensures your digestive system is loaded with complex carbohydrates. It stimulates stronger intestinal muscles movement, accelerating the process of digestion.
2# Improves immunity: Lemon helps boosting immunity due to the presence of vitamins and antioxidants like vitamin C. It also contains quercetin, a bioflavonoid that has anti-allergic effect. The compound also helps prevent inflammation by acting as a natural antihistamine. Some bioflavonoids present in lemon also posses anti-viral properties, helping keep common infections at bay.
3# Fastens wound healing: Vitamin C in lemon helps production of collagen, helping wound and fractures heal faster. It also promotes regeneration of tissues of the bone , cartilage and connective tissue.
4# Keeps your teeth healthy: Just rubbing a lemon wedge on your skin can help whiten it. You could also mix lemon juice with baking soda and apply it on your teeth using an ear bud to achieve instant whiteness. However, don't leave the mixture for more than a minute or else it will cause more harm than good. Lemons also help incorporation of calcium in teeth, making them strong and healthy. Here are some other home remedies you can try to whiten your teeth.
5# Uplifts your mood: The scent and the aroma of a lemon can help uplift your mood. If you ve had a hard day at work, and can t seem to find the motivation for anything, smell a lemon to feel better.
6# Helps you lose weight: A lemon can be your friend if you re looking to lose weight. It has pectin, which is a soluble fibre that can help you feel fuller and eat less. Just drink a cup of hot tea with lemon in it, and you ll notice how it can make you eat less. In fact, lemon juice mixed with honey has been long recommended for weight loss. Here's how you can include the lemon-honey-water mixture in your weight loss plan.
7# Enhances kidney and lemon function: When you eat a lemon, the sour taste helps signal the nerves and hormones to activate your liver and kidneys. Also, lemon is a natural diuretic which aids the kidney in excreting excess fluid and helps you detoxify.
8# Helps treat acne: You don t even have to work hard to prepare this home remedy for acne. Simply rubbing a lemon wedge over your face and washing it after 10 minutes can help cure acne. Read about more home remedies to treat acne.
9# Keeps your eyes healthy: Quercetin in lemon is known to regress the activity of aldosereductase, an enzyme that promotes production of sorbitol that helps prevent cataract formation.
10# Improves heart health: The vitamin C rich stores of lemon helps conversion of cholesterol into bile in the liver, thereby reducing blood levels of cholesterol, a key risk factor of development of heart disease.
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References
Vijaya Kumar. The Secret Benefits of Lemon and Honey. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd, 2013 p78