THE MASTER ALKALISER: LEMON

 

Citrus limon

We all know lemons - they’re the sour, yellow fruit that we squeeze over our fish right?

As common as this fruit is, it’s under utilized, undervalued and very useful for keeping healthy!

Lemons are easily grown. Once you get a tree established either in the garden or a large tub, it will probably keep you in lemons all year round. They are a beautiful tree with glossy leaves and get covered in white blossoms with their gorgeous citrus smell!

Lemon juice taken in water, daily, is probably one of the simplest things you can do for your health. I do it off and on, but really should keep it up.

Although lemons are acidic, in your body they become alkaline. Lemon water is useful for bloating, indigestion and heartburn, arthritis, gout, and will assist the bowels to eliminate waste efficiently, helping with constipation and diarrhea.

The lemon is a wonderful herb for the liver and is thought to help dissolve gallstones. It helps those who have problems with bleeding disorders and excessive menstruation.

It’s great in cases of colds, flu, and for coughs, asthma and sore throats.

It’s a real health tonic. There are apparently scientific reasons as to why it is so effective - apparently to do with cations and anions but I won’t go into that here. Suffice it to say that everyone could do with a little lemon each day. Remember always use fresh lemon juice - not the bottled stuff!

How do I use lemon?

I use it in herbal teas sometimes - with thyme, ginger, and some honey for instance.

I use lemon and it’s peel in my fresh juices and I use it in water as described above.

During our hot summers we drink a lot of Italian sparkling mineral water. Each afternoon we would sit in the sun with a glass of icy cold mineral water with lemon squeezed into it - just lovely!

Note that Limes have the same properties and can be used instead of lemons.