Loving Lemons into the New Year!

Loving Lemons into the New Year!

The value and benefits of lemons continue to amaze me!  They are high in antioxidents and Vitamin C and E, selenium, zinc, carotenoid pigments and limonin.  Studies have shown that the antioxidents in lemon enhance the liver’s ability to break down toxins by up to 35%!  When a family member had acid reflux, I turned to the essential oil of lemon to begin ingesting a drop in water or tea.  This is a therapeutic grade oil that is safe to ingest.  Lemon is acid binding in the stomach, not acid forming, like orange juice, so it was a simple, and effective way to quiet down the stomach and carry the acid away.  I have also used lemon oil on clients in my massage practice to uplift the spirit, if a client is depressed, sad or going through grief.  It also happens to be effective for cleaning as I use 20 drops in a white load to replace Clorox.  Lemon oil is cold pressed from the rind, and requires 3,000 lemons to produce a kilo of oil.

Lemon has been used to fight food poisoning, malaria and typhoid epidemics, along with helping to lower blood pressure and help arthritis and muscular aches and pains. From the Reference Guide for Essential Oils, lemon is used as and antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral, and is found to be invigorating and refreshing.  When a client is going through a crisis of healing, I offer lemon as a super way to build up the immune system either topically putting the oil on the feet, body or ingesting a drop in a liquid.  I also make my own salad dressing with lemon oil with avocado oil, olive oil, 5 drops of lemon, along with garlic and other seasonings.  Using this to brush over fish or chicken is a fun way to get the oil into the body for health.

The one caveat using lemon oil on the skin is this – you want to avoid direct sunlight for up to 12 hours after topically using as it is photosensitive and may cause skin irritation.  Other than that – embrace this yummy yellow fruit for your robust health!