When Life Give You Lemons, Make Everything~Two Week Series on Lemons Post 1

My Lemon Tree is Loaded

     It's lemon Season in Arizona. I love fresh lemons ,and my two trees are loaded. I keep picking them, and don't even make a dent in the fruit I have. Lemons come at just the right time of the year, when we need the vitamins they provide, and the feeling of freshness. Since I have two lemon trees, I am becoming creative in how to use the lemons.

      This post is the beginning of a 2 week series on Lemons. In each post I will cover what do do with lemons, from cooking to pickling, facials to body cleanses. I am excited to share with you just how wonderful lemons are. I would recommend if you live near someone with a lemon tree, knock on the door and ask for some. Most people that have a lemon tree, have more then enough and are willing to share. Remember to ask, don't just pick. That drives me crazy when cars pull up in front of my house and someone starts picking lemons. I gladly share with anyone who asks, but to just pick is stealing.  That really gets me.

     So join this series on lemons. I think you are going to enjoy all you learn about lemons.  If you have different ideas, please post them so others can enjoy.

    Tomorrow I will be posting on the use of lemons with herbs and spices.
    Today, take a brief look at just how amazing lemons are.

Vitamin C

A whole lemon contains 30.7 mg of vitamin C, or about 25 to 30 percent of your recommended intake. Males and females who smoke need 125 and 110 mg per day, respectively, while nonsmoking males and females need 90 and 75 mg, respectively. Vitamin C is an important, water-soluble vitamin that assists in forming collagen in your cartilage, bone and blood vessels. Additionally, vitamin C, because it is an antioxidant, gives your body protection from free radicals, which damage your body and contribute to diseases. Vitamin C also helps strengthen your immune system.

Minerals

Lemons contain 15 mg of calcium, 80 mg of potassium and 5 mg of magnesium. Your body needs between 1000 and 1200 mg of calcium daily, and a lemon gives you a little over 1 percent of your daily requirement. When you eat a low-sodium diet and have an adequate intake of potassium, you may see a reduction in your blood pressure. You need 4700 mg of potassium per day. Magnesium helps your body with energy transportation, protein production and muscle function. A lemon gives you about 1 percent of your magnesium requirement.

Considerations

An entire lemon has just 17 calories, and the juice of a single lemon has 11 calories, making it a low-calorie way to flavor drinks and water. Adding lemon juice to vegetables gives you flavor with few calories, and grated lemon peel enhances the flavors of banana or bran muffins. You may add some juice from a fresh lemon to a glass of water as a mild diuretic. This diuretic effect may help relieve feelings of bloating or fluid retention. 

A Few More Health benefits of lemon

• Lemons are packed with numerous health benefiting nutrients. The fruit is low in calories, 29 calories per 100 g, one of the lowest among the citrus groups. 
• It contains no saturated fats or cholesterol, but is rich in dietary fiber (7.36% of RDA). Lemon is one of the very low glycemic fruits.
• Its acidic taste is due to citric acid. Citric acid is present up to 8% in its juice. Citric acid is a natural preservative, aids digestion. Studies found that citric acid helps dissolve kidney stones.
• Lemons, like other fellow citrus fruits, are an excellent source of ascorbic acid (provides about 88% of DRI). Ascorbic acid or vitamin-C is a powerful water soluble natural anti-oxidant. This vitamin is helpful in preventing scurvy. Besides, consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps the human body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the blood.
• Lemons, like oranges, contain a variety of phytochemicals. Hesperetin, naringin, and naringenin are flavonoid glycosides commonly found in citrus fruits. Naringenin is found to have a bio-active effect on human health as antioxidant, free radical scavenger, anti-inflammatory, and immune system modulator. This substance has also been shown to reduce oxidant injury to DNA in the cells in-vitro studies.
• They also contain a small level of vitamin A, and other flavonoid anti-oxidants such as α, and ß-carotenes, beta-cryptoxanthin, zea-xanthin and lutein. These compounds are known to have antioxidant properties. Vitamin A also required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin and is also essential for vision. Consumption of natural fruits rich in flavonoids helps the body to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.
• Total ORAC value, which measures the anti-oxidant strength of 100 g of fresh lemon juice is 1225 µmol TE (Trolex equivalents).
• The fruit is also a good source of B-complex vitamins such as pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, and folates. These vitamins are essential in the sense that body requires them from external sources to replenish.
• Further, they contain a healthy amount of minerals like iron, copper, potassium, and calcium. Potassium in an important component of cell and body fluids helps control heart rate and blood pressure.

Citrus fruits, as such, have long been valued for their wholesome nutritious and antioxidant properties. It is scientifically established that citrus fruits, especially lemons and oranges, by virtue of their richness in vitamins and minerals, have many proven health benefits. Moreover, it is now beginning to be appreciated that the other biologically active, non-nutrient compounds found in citrus fruits such as phyto-chemical antioxidants, and soluble as well as insoluble dietary fiber is helpful in reduction in the risk for cancers, many chronic diseases like arthritis, and from obesity and coronary heart diseases.