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Functional Food
|
medically reviewedAuthor: Medical reviewer:
March 27, 2020
By Jessica Cooper
mbg Contributor
Jessica Cooper is a Boston-based yoga teacher. She was trained and certified by the Yandara Institute (Yoga Alliance Certified) in 2012 and has been teaching Vinyasa classes ever since.
Medical review by
Wendie Trubow, M.D., MBA
Functional Medicine Gynecologist
Wendie Trubow is a functional medicine gynecologist with almost 10 years of training in the field. She received her M.D. from Tufts University.
March 27, 2020 Lemons have many widely known uses: They can add a refreshing zest to your water, help clean household items, and add flavor to numerous dishes. Many people only consider using its juice and pulp. But here’s the thing: If you’re only using the juice and discarding the peel, you may be missing out.
Lemons are blessed with many natural health benefits, and no part of them should go to waste. Here are the major advantages of using the whole lemon (especially the peel!).
1.
It gives you more vitamins.
Lemon peels contain as much as five to 10 times more vitamins than the lemon juice itself1. To name a few: Vitamin C, Vitamin A, beta carotene, folate, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
2.
It can support your body’s detoxification process.
Lemon peels are great for helping your organs eliminate waste from the body, especially carcinogenic elements. Lemon peels also consist of components known as salvestrol Q40 and limonene, which are known to have antioxidant properties2. Also, the flavonoids present in the peel are known to be effective when it comes to curbing the division of cancerous cells3. A rat study also revealed that consumption of hot tea with lemon peel can be beneficial in preventing the development of cancer cells (although, much more research is needed before the same could be said for humans).
3.
It can improve bone health.
Lemon peels have lots of calcium and Vitamin C, which are bone-healthy nutrients. Studies have shown that consuming lemon peels can also help prevent osteoporosis4, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory polyarthritis5, and other bone conditions.
4.
It can decrease cholesterol levels.
Digesting lemon peels can help lower the LDL cholesterol6, or the bad cholesterol, through its polyphenol flavonoids. The vitamins in lemon peels can also help in preventing or minimizing the risks of conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease7.
That’s what we’ve been wasting!
How to use more lemon peels in your diet.
Freeze whole, washed, organic lemons and keep them in your freezer. Then grate the sprinkles of lemon peel over your meals, in your drinks, and on your soups for a fresh flavor and a bit of the lengthy list of benefits above.
Enjoy your lemon peels!
7 Sources
- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/167749/nutrients
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25896273
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23349849
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6271111/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2090989614000071
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23838456
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28472215
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