5 Reasons to Love Lemons

By Colleen Walsh Fong

If you want someone to pucker up just have them think about lemons. The reaction will be a quick and involuntary pucker. But there are lots of beneficial things you can do with lemons and their juice. Here are my five favs.

Use Them as a Healthy Food

Lemons are loaded with nutrients like vitamin C, calcium, citric acid, and more that help improve digestion, prevent bacterial and viral infections, and boost your immune system. But you have to ingest them first! I like to use lemons as a food brightener—an ingredient that boosts the flavor of a dish. It’s the secret ingredient in my Sweet ‘N Spicy Chili. Since lemon juice is acidic it helps to balance foods and is used in lots of salads including Greek and Caesar. Lemon slices or lemon juice helps cut the after taste of some fish dishes, and can add an unexpected bite to veggies, like my Zucchini Brochettes.

Cure Canker Sores

To shrink canker sores quickly swish a combination of the juice of one fresh lemon and warm water around in your mouth three times per day.

Reduce Fevers

Add some honey to that warm water and lemon juice mixture. Drink it every 3 hours to help normalize your temperature.

Clear Up Minor Cases of Acne

Eradicate minor to moderate acne with a combined topical and ingestible daily regime. Start off your day by drinking a glass of unsweetened fresh lemon juice and water. Before you go to sleep, apply some fresh lemon juice to your blemishes. Leave it intact while you sleep and rinse with warm water when you wake. Then start the process again.

Clean Your Home Naturally

Lemon juice can work wonders on your home interior, too. Mix equal parts of olive oil and lemon juice to improve the appearance of wood furniture. Rub it over scratches to smooth them out and use the same mixture to polish all of your wooden pieces to a nice glow.

Clean ivory piano keys and white marble with straight lemon juice. Then rinse the juice from the surface using a cloth dampened with cold water.

And if you like a little tea with your lemon, check out the many uses of it here.

Colleen is the author of 3 touchscreen cookbooks that do everything but the cooking for you. Check them out and find free recipes and helpful cooking and food info here.

Photo Courtesy of rakratchada torsap / FreeDigitalPhotos.net