Lemon Juice Health Benefits

Nothing beats a tall cool glass of sweet lemonade when you want to refresh yourself at any time on a hot day. Lemon juice, with its abundant vitamin C, is an ideal thirst quencher with the goodness of a host of other minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. An eight ounce glass of unsweetened lemon juice has just about 50 calories, making it an ideal drink to ward off hunger pangs when you are dieting. The calorie count goes up to 80 for sweet lemonade. Drinking lemon juice mixed with warm water and honey first thing in the morning is a natural way of losing weight.

It helps to clear the bowels and to eliminate accumulated toxins from the body.

Lemon juice detox programs recommend drinking plenty of lemon water, green tea with lemon juice, and adding honey or maple syrup as sweeteners initially. It is found that regular consumption of lemon water reduces the craving for carbohydrates and sugars. A lemon juice diet for one day with just the juice and maple syrup and water may also be called a lemon cleansing diet or a lemon detox diet. To continue this diet beyond one or two days would be unhealthy as the body is deprived of other essential nutrients required for its functioning. See also lemon health benefits

The use of lemon juice in medicine is known in almost all ancient systems of medicine. This is because lemon juice boosts the body’s immune systems and helps in fight against coughs and colds. Warm lemon water is also effective against bacteria that cause throat infections. Antioxidants in lemon juice protect the body from the damage inflicted by free radicals and its antiseptic properties help to speed up healing in case of injuries.

Lemon Juice for Skin

Lemon juice benefits for the skin and the teeth come from consuming the juice as well as by applying lemon juice directly on the skin or the gums. Applied on the skin, lemon juice protects against sunburn and helps to heal cuts and wounds. Drinking lemon juice everyday reduces the incidence of pimple and acne on the face. Chapped lips can be treated with a mix of glycerin and lemon juice. Massaging gums with lemon juice heals bleeding gums and clears bad breath related to gum infections. Since lemon juice is a diuretic, it can help in cleansing and detoxifying the body. Drinking lemon juice reduces the pain felt by people with rheumatism and arthritis. Those with urinary tract infections and gall bladder or kidney stones find relief when they drink lemon water several times a day. Drinking lemon juice early in the morning is also said to stimulate the liver to produce more bile, facilitating easier and quicker digestion of food. Lemon juice is also found to be useful in controlling nausea and vomiting.

Submitted on January 16, 2014