Vitamins and Minerals Found Inside Lemons

Lemons -- some consider lemons to be the most beneficial of all citrus fruits, loaded with bioflavonoids that play a major role in ridding the body of toxins. Lemons can be both nutritious and delicious when juiced with other ingredients. Here are a few of the questions we attempt to answer about Lemons.

• What vitamins in Lemons make Lemons so good for us?
• What is the best method for juicing Lemons?
• What are some great buying tips for Lemons?

Plus, we'll do our best to provide some general information about Lemons that you might not find so easily elsewhere on the Internet.

Let's begin our exploration of Lemons...

Vitamins and Minerals in Lemons

Lemons are probably best known for having high citric acid content, which means that a little lemon juice goes a long way. But, as mentioned above, they also are a great source of bioflavonoids.

Vitamins in Lemons

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C

Minerals in Lemons

• Potassium
• Calcium
• Phosphorus
• Magnesium
• Iron
• Trace amounts of selenium, zinc, manganese and copper.

What about juicing Lemons? Read on for some important tips...

Tips for Juicing Lemons

Juicing Lemons can add both flavor and valuable nutrients to most any home-juiced cocktail... or it can result in a not-so-palatable drink that is difficult, if not impossible to swallow.

Here are a few tips for juicing Lemons that may help turn your juicing experience into something you look forward to and thoroughly enjoy.

As mentioned above, a little lemon juice goes a long way. It is best mixed with other juices or with distilled or mineral water.

For those who want to consume lemon juice daily, try about a half a lemon with eight ounces of water.

When juiced with apples (1/4 lemon with skin + 4 apples served over crushed ice), the juice can be an excellent thirst quencher as well as one of the best natural diuretics around.

Purchasing Tips for Buying Lemons

Here are a few tips for buying and storing lemons which may help you get the best results in your juicing adventures.

Rough and pebbly skin indicates low juice content, and any green on the skin means that the fruit is more acidic than usual.

Like other fruit, many lemons are treated with wax and chemicals, so it is necessary to clean them with a biodegradable produce wash before storing them in your refrigerator.

General Information About Lemons

This article wouldn't be complete if we didn't include a little general information about lemons, as well as a few helpful links if you want to explore Lemons further.

The exact origin of the lemon is unclear, though it is widely presumed that lemons first grew in India, northern Burma, and China. The lemon was first recorded in literature in a tenth century Arabic treatise on farming, and was also used as an ornamental plant in early Islamic gardens.

In 1747, James Lind's experiments on seamen suffering from scurvy involved adding Vitamin C to their diets through lemon juice.

In South and South East Asia, the lemon was known for its antiseptic properties and it was used as an antidote for various poisons.

Fish are sometimes marinated in lemon juice to neutralize the odor. The acid neutralizes the amines in fish by converting them into nonvolatile ammonium salts.

Lemons were the primary commercial source of citric acid prior to the development of fermentation-based processes.

Lemons have long been used in juices and cooking and yet, they are also used in many non-culinary applications, such as; deodorizers, degreasers, stain removers and disinfectants. When mixed with baking soda, lemon can remove stains from plastic food storage containers. The d-limonene in lemon oil is also used to make some non-toxic insecticides.

Pickled lemons are a Moroccan delicacy.

When lemon juice is sprinkled on certain foods that tend to oxidize and turn brown after being sliced, such as apples, bananas and avocados, the acid acts as a short-term preservative by denaturing the enzymes that cause browning and degradation.

Sources/Resources for More Information About Lemons

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Lemon
• Sunkist.com - Lemons
• Sunkist Kids - Cool Facts About Lemons
• BBC Science and Nature - Lemon Juice Experiment
• Reader's Digest - Lemons: Discover this popular fruit's 34 clever uses.

Be sure to check out both our "Juicing" and our "Smoothies" sections for delicious recipes and more using Lemons!