There are so many fruits on the planet and some of the most impressive ones nutritionwise are lemons. The nicest thing about these citrus fruits is they are easily accessible most especially because they are available almost allyear round.
You can take advantage of the wonderful nutrients lemons pack by turning these fruits into tarts, cakes, cookies and of course lemonades! Perhaps you have also read or heard somewhere that drinking a cup of warm water with lemon juice first thing in the morning helps in neutralizing toxins and boosting your immune system.
Before we discuss the reason why freezing lemons can have a wonderful impact on your health, let us first take a good look at some of the wellknown health benefits of lemons:
- Lemons contain the least amount of calories among all citrus fruits, making them perfect for people who are monitoring their blood sugar level as well as weight.
- Citric acid in lemons helps facilitate a smoother digestion, allowing your body to take advantage of the nutrients in food. Also, citric acid helps in dissolving kidney stones.
- These sour fruits are loaded with antioxidants that deactivate free radicals before they damage healthy cells. Antioxidants are also modulators of the immune system.
- Lemons help in warding off premature aging signs because of its loads of vitamin C. This nutrient is
- essential for healthy skin and the synthesis of collagen, a structural protein.
- Vitamin C in lemons is also important for the growth of tissues in your body like the skin, blood vessels, tendons and ligaments. It’s also important for strong bones and teeth.
Everyone knows that lemons contain stellar amounts of vitamin C, but did you know that they also contain thiamine, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, potassium, calcium, iron, copper, magnesium, and even vitamins A and E? As you can see, every glass of lemonade you guzzle down or every lemon tart that you munch on supplies your body with all sorts of nutrients that help you enjoy a boosted immune system, strong bones, lovely skin and many others.
Lemons also contain limonoids, antioxidants that contribute to the numerous health benefits these citrus fruits offer. Limonoids are phytochemicals — compounds present in plants that have profound effects on the body. According to the experts, limonoids are capable of the following:
- Decrease the levels of bad cholesterol, thus helping to lower your blood pressure as well as risk for heart disease.
- Remove toxins and impurities in the blood that can lead to problems concerning the circulatory system.
- Kill off microorganisms and parasitic worms in the gastrointestinal tract, allowing you to enjoy a healthier and optimally functioning digestive system necessary for the proper absorption of nutrients in food.
- Attack malignant cells that can cause cancer of the breast, colon, prostate, cervix and so many others.
- Unlike drugs used in chemotherapies that attack both healthy and malignant cells in the body, limonoids only zap those that may eventually leave you suffering from cancer.
The above are the many benefits that limonoids are capable of offering. However, it’s important to note that much of these powerful phytochemicals in lemons are not found in the juice but in the peel. Each time you opt for a glass of lemonade, just imagine how much healthgiving limonoids go to waste as the peel ends up in the trash bin!
It’s exactly for this reason why consuming the peel of lemons can work to your advantage. By freezing lemons, it’s easy to benefit from the loads of limonoids found in the peel. Here’s how it’s done:
1. Wash your lemons very well.
2. Chop them all up into large chunks without peeling them.
3. Stash everything in a resealable plastic bag and place in the freezer.
4. Get one and grate, and add to soups, salads, smoothies, juices, yogurts and many others.