The lemon is a species of small evergreen tree in the flowering plant rutaceae thought to have been first grown in either India, northern Burma or China.
It entered Europe through Southern Italy and then got introduced to Persia, present day Iran around 700 AD before it was later introduced to the Americas in 1943 when Christopher Columbus brought it seeds to Hispaniola on his voyages.
Now enough of the history there are few fruits that have continued to fascinate normal everyday people, food nutritionist, and scientists like the lemon fruit. Apart from its great taste on everything ranging from salads to pasta and even eggs which has made it an ideal flavor for many food processing company, the fruit is also packed with so many numerous vitamins and minerals perhaps this is the reason they are considered super foods by many.
Below we present to you some of the proven nutritional and health benefit of consuming lemon:
Lemon Helps with Digestion: Taking lemon juice with warm water have been proven to be particularly helpful in regulating natural bowel movement because lemon juice’s atomic structure is similar to the digestive juices found in the stomach, it tricks the liver into producing bile, which keeps food moving through the body and gastrointestinal tract smoothly thereby relieving indigestion and an upset stomach.
Lemons Are A Great Source of Vitamin C: According to food nutritionists lemon juice contains a significant amounts of vitamin C (13% of the recommended daily allowance per fluid), a 100-gram serving of lemon juice contains about 53 milligrams of vitamin C. vitamin C functions as an antioxidant fighting free radicals in the body it is also essential for creating collagen which is responsible for generating new bone, skin, and blood vessels.
Lemon Helps in Cleaning the Liver: The liver is an organ in the digestive system that assists the digestive process and carries out many other essential functions which includes producing bile to help break down food into energy, creating essential substances such as hormones.
Liver inflammation occurs when liver cells are attacked by a disease-causing microbe. Lemon contains a compound called naringenin which can effectively help to reduce liver inflammation it also contains flavonoid that helps protect the liver against oxidative stress which is essentially an imbalance between the production of free radicals and the ability of the body to counteract or detoxify their harmful effects through neutralization by antioxidants.
Lemon Can Help Protect Against Cancer: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, lemon being rich in antioxidants like vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin E helps support the immune system, it also helps in protecting the cell against free radicals which reacts with cell membrane and the DNA within the cells impairing their function. Impaired cells are the first step leading to cancer development.
Choosing a diet high in antioxidants like lemon plays a big role in fighting cancer.
Lemon clears up the skin: To get radiantly beautiful skin lemons are a force to reckon with, they contain antibacterial and antifungal properties which is a great natural treatment for acne. The citric acid in lemon can also help lighten dark spots and blemishes.
Lemon helps improve oral hygiene: Acidity in lemon fruit helps improve oral hygiene by breaking down pungent smells it can also be used as a natural mint to keep breadth fresh.
