Lemons, the unsung superfood

I mentioned in the previous post that lemons are amazing. I thought I would use my internet soap box to let you all know why we should all be drinking lemon water all the time. One of the most notable things it does is alkalize the blood. I know I have spent a lot of time talking about pH but it turns out it is extremely important. I had not idea! It can seem counterintuitive because lemon juice has such a low pH, but the long and the short of it is that the high amounts of minerals in the lemon react with stomach acid making it alkaline, due to science reasons. These science reasons are explained in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WndFDIa6a0s. 

Why is that important? Why should you care? Well, when our body's natural pH moves from alkaline to acidic it eats away at our bones to neutralize the acid. So alkalizing the blood through other means can prevent osteoporosis later in life. That's not all, there are plenty more reasons you should be drinking lemon water.

Here's a compilation of all the best, and most legit seeming, benefits of lemon water! 

• Lemons are high in potassium, which is good for heart health, as well as brain and nerve function. 303 mg per lemon. It also keeps free radicals under check, boosts the formation of blood cells, regulates blood pressure and so forth. In brief, lemon water can protect you from a number of potential physical disorders and keep you energized.
• Lemon juice not only encourages healthy digestion by loosening toxins in your digestive tract, it helps to relieve symptoms of indigestion such as heartburn, burping, and bloating. Something I have experienced personally since I've started drinking lemon water everyday!
• It helps flush out the toxins in your body by enhancing enzyme function, and stimulating your liver.
• Lemons contain pectin fiber, which assists in fighting hunger cravings. This is something else I have experienced since I've been drinking lemon water.
•  It removes uric acid in your joints, which is one of the main causes of inflammation.
•  Lemons are extremely beneficial for the cardiovascular system. The antioxidants present in these fruits can curb down the adverse effects of toxins as well as harmful free radicals on your heart and blood vessels. Moreover, the potassium content of lemons keeps all cardiac problems at bay by diminishing mental stress and relaxing the heart muscles.
•  Being a natural diuretic, lemons can increase the rate of urination, which is highly important for maintaining the health of your renal system. As lemon water promotes the elimination of toxins and other waste materials from the internal system, you can easily stay away from rheumatoid arthritis.
• Lemon is full of natural antioxidants. It can effectively combat damaging free radicals and remove them completely from your body. Being a good source of vitamin C, the fruit also repairs the damaged skin cells as well as helps you get rid of fine lines, blemishes, wrinkles, deep furrows etc. 
•  Apart from free radicals, lemon water also purges toxic materials from your blood 
• Lemon water has long been known as an amazing natural hair care solution. It can make your hair stronger by keeping the roots or follicles healthy. It also works as a natural stimulant for your hair and promotes its growth.
• he antioxidants present in lemon are extremely favorable for your scalp. Hence, drinking lemon water in a regular manner is useful for treating dry scalp and dandruff permanently.
• It destroys intestinal worms
• Blood vessels are strengthened by the vitamin P (bioflavinoids) in lemon thus prevents internal hemorrhage. Also, making it useful in treating high blood pressure.
• The citric acid in lemon juice helps to dissolve gallstones, calcium deposits, and kidney stones.
• Lemons have powerful antibacterial properties; experiments have found the juice of lemons destroy the bacteria of malaria, cholera, diphtheria, typhoid and other deadly diseases.
• The symptoms of eye disorders, including diabetic retinopathy have been shown in research to improve due to the rutin, found in lemons.
• Lemons contain 22 anti-cancer compounds, including naturally occurring limonene; oil which slows or halts the growth of cancer tumors in animals and flavonol glycosides which stop cell division in cancer cells.
• According to The Reams Biological Ionization Theory (RBTI), the lemon is the ONLY food in the world that is anionic (an ion with a negative charge). All other foods are cationic (the ion has a positive charge.) This makes it extremely useful to health as it is the interaction between anions and cations that ultimately provides all cell energy
  
  you can check out the nutritional info here http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1938/2
  
  Pretty amazing stuff right? Serving size is 1/2 a lemon if you are under 150 pounds and a whole if you are over that weight. I've been doing 1-2 whole lemons a day. I squeeze it into a liter of water and add some liquid stevia (a non-carcinogenic zero calorie sweetener) and it makes it like lemonade. On that note, lemonade is not an acceptable substitute for lemon water. Some people prefer it warm, particularly in the morning. I like mine cold. I read that lime juice also alkalizes the blood, but I don't know if it has any of the other benefits that lemons have. Oranges are not a good substitute because of the sugar content. There you have it. Lemons are amazing so drink up!