It’s sour, tangy & great for health & beauty
It is good for digestion, for your heart and vision, strengthens your nails and… Learn more about the sour, tangy, wonderful citrusy lemon…
On a hot sizzling afternoon you love squeezing lemon in a glass of crushed ice and quaff it. Well, you make your rice yummy with a few tablespoons full of lemon juice and yes, that final lemon rinse for shiny, lustrous hair. So many uses of lemon! But you are not the only one to go gaga over the goodness of the citrusy lemon, Ayurveda has been propounding its goodness for ages. It has regarded lemon as a valuable fruit and admired its properties all along. Actress Aishwarya Rai is all for a slice of lemon, which she calls her ‘beauty mantra’.
Good for digestion: Did you know that lemon checks the excessive flow of bile and cleanses the mouth. Is good for vision. It dislodges phlegm (cough) and expels wind from the digestive tract. It helps in digestion and removes constipation. That’s not all. Here’s more. It prevents vomiting, throat trouble and acidity and destroys intestinal worms. Though lemon is acidic, it leaves alkaline residues in the body, which is why it is useful in all symptoms of acidity.
The virtues of lemon juice: Lemon-juice is a powerful antibacterial. It is a rich source of vitamin P and also contains some vitamin A, niacin and thiamin in small amounts. Lemon-juice prevents or restrains influenza, malaria and cold and provides relief in fever. It gives immediate relief in abdominal disorders. It gives relief in kidney and bladder disorders. It acts as a sedative for the nerves and the heart and allays troublesome palpitation, says naturopath Dr Suneeta Deshmukh. Remember not to take concentrated lemon-juice. It should be diluted with water. “Pure lemonjuice contains acid, which is injurious to the teeth enamel,” says dietician and nutritionist Suneet Khanna
Loaded with Vitamin C: Lemon strengthens the blood vessels and prevents internal haemorrhage. It is, therefore, extremely useful in high blood pressure. value. When Vasco da Gama made his voyage round the ‘Cape of Good Hope’ nearly two-thirds of his crew died of scurvy. But now the recurrence of such a disaster is no longer feared owing to the widespread use of lemon.
Blessing for mountaineers: Lemon has been proved to be a blessing for mountaineers. In cases of insufficient oxygen and difficulty in breathing, lemon comes to their rescue. Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mt Everest, admitted that his victory over Mt Everest was greatly due to lemon. “Lemon helps fix oxygen and calcium in the liver as it regulates blood carbohydrate levels which affect the blood oxygen levels," explains Dr Khanna.
How to Select Lemons? Nutritionist and dietician Archana Bannerjee says, “One of the tricks to find a good quality lemon is to find one that is rather thin-skinned since those with thicker peels will have less flesh and therefore be less juicy.” Therefore, choose lemons that are heavy for their size and that feature peels that have a finely grained texture. They should be fully yellow in colour as those that have green tinges will be more acidic due to the fact that they have not fully ripened. Signs of overmature fruit include wrinkling, soft or hard patches and dull coloring. And anyways, fresh lemons are available all year round.
Some Quick tips
SKINSOOTHER: Lemon juice is ideal for applying on insect bites, stings and rashes. Dab lemon juice directly onto spot and sunburn. Remember, lemon is antiseptic and antibacterial.
NAIL CLEANER: Dig your nails up to your cuticles in lemon juice for 10 minutes. This cleanses, whitens and strengthens the nails.
LEMON JUICE GARGLE: A remedy used for sore throats, stuffy noses and mouth ulcers. Squeeze 1 tb sp of lemon juice into 1 cup or warm water, stir and take a mouthful. Swirl around in the mouth, gargle with it and swallow. Do this three times a day to clear infections.
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