by J.N. PAQUET

Created on: February 06, 2011

In a hundred grams of a raw peeled lemon, one can find more than forty different nutrients, such as proteins, carbohydrates, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper, vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, etc.(1)

How can one benefit from so many nutrients combined together in a lemon? What are the actual nutritional benefits of lemons? When were they discovered?

The ancients Greeks, then the Romans in the fourth century AD were already growing lemons at home; lemons that they imported from their colony of Libya, in North Africa. They very quickly discovered that lemons could be used to treat all kinds of illnesses, infections and maybe more importantly at the time... poison!

Nowadays, a simple lemon doesn’t just give you lemonade; it also has some well-known and some unexpected properties. Because it is rich in vitamin C, the lemon is said for example to prevent and treat different types of infection, from the most benign ones to some of the most dangerous.

When it is mixed with some coffee, it moderates headaches, while some lemon juice relieves sore throats. Getting the flu is a nightmare for everyone. It can be eased with a single lemon to reduce a high fever. A lemon mixed with hot water sounds terrible and probably undrinkable, but it actually treats digestion problems such as nausea, heartburn, constipation, biliousness or even worm infestations.

Drinking some lemon juice relieves symptoms of asthma, and it can also act as a tonic to the liver if taken on a regular basis in the morning. The liver is then getting ready to digest the day’s food and one can feel peaceful for the rest of the day.

Lemon juice, in addition, helps dissolve the dangerous gallstones, and since it is a diuretic, it flushes out all the toxins and the bacteria hidden in the body. This is particularly useful for people with urinary tract infections or uric acid problems.

If one needed more reasons to drink lemon juice, it is thought to help in the prevention and the cure of osteoarthritis, as well as atherosclerosis.

Finally, lemon juice helps in the prevention of diabetes, and when mixed with coffee (this is surprisingly the same method as the one used for a simple headache!), it is said to help treat malaria.

One lemon, hundreds of possibilities.

(1) source: USDA (States Department of Agriculture)

Learn more about this author, J.N. PAQUET.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.