21 reasons why you should use lemon everyday

Lemon is a very important ingredient in most kitchens, as it can easily make loads of meals more special and delicious.

But did you know that this fruit is not only tasty, but has tons of health benefits as well? If this is a new bit of information for you, keep on reading, you will surely be shocked!

Eating a few slices of lemon everyday can really save lives!

In this article I’ve tried to collect all the health benefits and advantages of lemon – from head to toe!

1. Stimulates hair growth. It can also help you to regulate the blood flow in the scalp and fight against hair loss by scrubbing lemon water on the top of your head (this can also help the hair to become healthy and shiny). Additionally, its mildly acidic nature can help you fight against dandruff, too.

2. Can ease fever. Just drink a glass of lemon juice that will increase your perspiration, therefore causing your temperature to decrease. Also, drinking a cup of lemon tea can also be very helpful.

3. Can help you to stay calm, fights insomnia. Lemon contains potassium that will help you to fight mental stress and depression. Use lemon oil in aromatherapy to fight insomnia.

4. Can cure throat infections, flu and common cold. Due to the lemon’s antibacterial property, drinking lemonade or applying a few drops of lemon juice on your meal can help you fight sore throat and flu symptoms as well. Gargle with a mixture of one lemon’s juice, (glass of) water and sea salt (1tsp) 3 times a day and sore throat won’t cause you more problems.

5. Can stop nose bleeding. Just apply a few drops of lemon juice on a cotton pad or tissue and place it in the bleeding nose.

6. Increases concentration. Inhaling lemon oil (aromatherapy) can easily help you to get more alert and increase your concentration and brain activity – either at home or at work.

7. Prevents dental problems. Applying some drops of lemon juice on a toothache can easily help you to ease the pain; meanwhile some drops on a bleeding gum can stop the bleeding. Additionally, lemons can prevent inflammations of the tongue as well. Look for toothpaste that contains lemon or lemon extracts to get rid of plaque, foul breath (even the breath after spices or alcohol) to keep your dental area healthy.

8. Helps to keep the heart healthy, also cures heart strokes. The high amount of potassium in lemon helps your body to relax, therefore is can ease stress and depression that can have a bad effect on the heart.

9. Has an important role in skin care. Lemon not only helps the skin to stay healthy, young looking and fresh, but also has an important role in fighting acne or eczema. Its alkaline nature helps to kill bacteria on the skin, therefore prevents blackheads and acne. There are several soaps, shower gels and handwashes available on the market that contain lemon extracts – these usually have an antibacterial effect as well.

10. Fights respiratory problems. Due to the fact that lemons are rich in Vitamin C, this fruit is able to help you fight the symptoms of different respiratory disorders and asthma as well.

11. Has a positive effect on digestion, can cure constipation. Lemon juice is a great cleansing agent; therefore just add a few drops of squeezed lemon juice for your daily meal to help your stomach or drink a glass of lemonade. Lemon can also prevent the dehydration caused by diarrhea.

12. Encourages weight loss. As I have said before, lemon is a great cleansing agent; therefore it speeds up digestion and helps to burn fat faster.

13. Fights and prevents diabetes. Lemon increases the level of good cholesterol (HDL) in the body, therefore it can help you the prevent diabetes.

14. Keeps the urinary tract healthy, fights kidney stones. Lemon helps forming urinary citrate, which can prevent the formation of harmful crystals in the body. Doctors say that drinking lemon juice with olive oil (!) is the best combination to prevent the formation of kidney stones.

15. Helps the work of immune system. The antibacterial effect of lemon helps the body fight against different diseases and disorders therefore has a great effect on the immune system as well.

16. Fights cancer. Lemons can prevent faulty metabolism in the cells of your body, therefore this fruit can easily help you to prevent some types of cancer, like breast or prostate cancer.

17. Fights rheumatism and varicose veins. This is also a great advantage of lemon’s antibacterial effect: nutrients in the fruit can help the body to get rid of different toxins and bacteria that can cause rheumatism.

18. Helps to ease high blood pressure. Drinking lemon juice increases potassium intake, therefore the body will be more relaxed - depression and stress will have a smaller effect on the body.

19. Can cure burns and ease bee stings, bug bites. Lemon is a great cooling agent, therefore applying a few slices of lemon on the injured skin can help to ease pain and provide a faster cure.

20. Helps in feet care, fights fatigue. The aromatic features of lemon can help to fight feet aches and different problems like hardened skin and lumps on the feet. Drink some lemon juice to ease fatigue.

21. Great stain remover. The acidic nature of lemon can be very helpful to get rid of stout stains on your white clothes. Just pour lemon juice on the stain immediately, leave it to work for a few minutes and then soak it in water. If the fabric is sensitive, use only a small amount of lemon juice and leave it to work only for half a minute.

If you are planning to buy some lemons to enjoy all the above mentioned advantages of this fruit, the best is if you buy lemons that are firm and relatively heavy for their size and have vibrant yellow skin.

Try to avoid lemons that have damaged or discolored skin – this is a sign that the lemon was probably stored improperly or the fruit is way older than it is supposed to be.

You can keep lemons fresh for days at a normal temperature, or put them into the drawer of your fridge to be able to store it even longer.

Additionally, you can also freeze the grated peel or the whole lemon and later grate it (the whole!) to be able to give and incredible zest to your dishes all year long. This is a common method used by many chefs on the world.

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© Copyright 2012-2014, Zsofia Koszegi-Nagy (zsobig)