When it comes to the most important and versatile of all-natural remedies used within the household, the lemon is found on top of the list.
The use of herbal remedies – including the herb lemon, classified as citrus Limon – is popular as an alternative to standard western prescribed medicine for a variety of general problems and ailments as well as cancer. This natural holistic approach to health is becoming more and more popular, but should not replace conventional medicine or prescription medicine.
What’s in it?
As a popular food and cooking ingredient, the lemon is filled with a high vitamin C content that rivals that of the respected citrus powerhouse, namely the orange. It is with this high amount of vitamin C than the lemon is able to effectively battle colds and flu. There is about 40 to 50 milligrams of vitamin C per every 100 grams of fruit.
Lemons have also been regarded as a popular remedy for scurvy, which is caused by consuming a deficient amount of vitamin C. This treatment method had been used long before vitamin C was identified by doctors and researchers of the past.
Apart from Vitamin C, the lemon contains plenty of valuable components, namely effective volatile oils, limonene, beta-pinene and alpha terpinene. A decent supply of other vitamins is also offered, including A, B1, B2 and B3. The lemon also contains important mucilage.
Because lemon contains citric acid, it quickly changes the body’s acid condition into an alkaline one.
It is also a well-known fact that the lemon contains unique flavanoid compounds that have antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. In several villages in West Africa where cholera epidemics had occurred, the inclusion of lemon and lime juice during the main meal of the day was determined to have been protective against the contraction of cholera. (Flavonoids are widely distributed in plants fulfilling many functions including producing yellow or red/blue pigmentation in flowers and protection from attack by microbes and insects. Flavonoids are most commonly known for their antioxidant activity.)
Preparation and use
When it comes to the use of lemons in preparing herbal remedies, it is important to avoid taking the essential oil of lemons internally if not under the supervision of a professional. Also, when preparing the essential oil for contact with the skin, it is important that it is well diluted as some people have been known to undergo severe skin irritations when using undiluted oil.
Both the fruit and peel is used to prepare a herbal remedy to improve the circulation throughout the body, as well as to boost one’s resistance to infection. The pith and the peel contain the highest amount of volatile oil and supply most of the bioflavonoids (or citrins – a group of substances occurring mainly in citrus fruits).
On many occasions, the lemon is used as a preventive measure for many different conditions, such as stomach infections, circulatory problems, thickening of the arterial walls (better known as arteriosclerosis) and gout.
Overall, the healing properties of the lemon are seen in the following primary actions: anti-septic, anti-rheumatic, anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant, anti-histaminic, anti-inflammatory, as well as diuretic and fever reducing.
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