A halved lemon sits brightly on my dinner table next to salt, pepper and a bottle of olive oil. I squeeze it over most foods for its sour, tangy and citrus flavour. I add it to soups, eggs, meat, salads, avocado on toast and some fruit such as papaya. When I was a child, my mum used to peel the lemon skin (she used the peel to scent her rice pudding), juice the lemon and give me the remaining white rind and pith. I ate it with a sprinkle of salt.
I still eat them this way or thinly slice a whole lemon and add it to a salad. Sometimes I use the zest in a salad dressing or add it to finely chopped parsley and grated Parmesan for a piquant addition to any soup or stew. The zest contains the essential oil which yields the lovely lemon scent.
Lemons offer a cleansing and nutritional therapy. They are rich in Vitamin C and bioflavonoids.
1. They keep bacteria at bay and strengthen the immune system;
2. Stimulate digestive juices and bile flow to aid digestion of fats;
3. Cleanse the bowel, liver and urinary system;
4. Help protect blood vessels from rupture or leakage (indicated for easy bruising, varicose and spider veins and haemorrhoids;
5. Protect cells from free radical damage and ageing;
6. Prevent excessive inflammation throughout your body; and
7. Did you know that by adding lemon to a cup of green tea you can reap more health benefits?
Catechins, the main health compound in tea tied to reduced risk of cancer, heart attack, and other diseases, unfortunately isn’t absorbed very well in the intestines. After digestion, less than 20 percent of catechins remain. In two studies, however, Purdue University researchers found that adding lemon juice, other citrus juice, or vitamin C helped the body absorb as much as 13 times the healthy catechins than normal. The addition of lemon juice caused 80 percent of the catechins to remain.
The juice of 1 lemon added to a glass of warm water consumed first thing in the morning is a simple way of gaining these wonderful health benefits. Drink with a straw if you are concerned about wearing down the enamel on your teeth or simply brush and rinse your teeth immediately after consumption.
Tip: Buy organic lemons especially if you want to use the zest. Conventionally grown lemons and limes may be waxed to protect them from bruising during shipping. Plant, insect, animal or petroleum-based waxes may be used. Carnauba palm is the most common plant-source wax. Other compounds, such as ethyl alcohol or ethanol, are added to the waxes for consistency, milk casein (a protein linked to milk allergy) for “film formers” and soaps for flowing agents.
