Add lemon juice to meals to see results.

The good news is that if you are trying to shake off a few kilos or even trying to maintain your current weight, the addition of lemon juice to meals will greatly aid your objective. Not only do they make salads sing and bring out the freshness in seafood and other white meats; lemons also have an impressive range of health benefits to boot.

Get lean

 

There’s a few ways in which these fruits help you maintain or achieve a desirable waistline.

 

• Lemon juice contains pectin, a soluble fiber that has been proven to keep the pounds at bay.
• They have diuretic (promoting frequent urination) properties, which is detoxifying and thus promotes fat burning.
• They are (obviously) very acidic. This spurs on faster digestion and keeps the liver protected too.

Rev up your metabolism

 

There’s growing evidence to suggest that the best way to start your day is perhaps not to call on the coffee first thing, but rather to have a glass of lukewarm water with roughly 50 ml (two tablespoons) of lemon juice. This gets your digestion going and ensures you greet the day with an empty stomach; thereafter you can indulge in the pre-noon caffeine rush.

 

Okay, so water isn’t exactly a food. But you do know how good it is for you, right? Add some ginger or mint to lemon water for added health and taste benefits.

 

Keeps the cancer away

 

Citrus limonoids (compounds found in citrus fruits like lemon) have been proven to have anticancer activities by protecting your cells from damage, which could lead to the formation of cancer cells.

 

Relaxes muscle and keeps bones strong

 

In addition to Vitamin C, lemons contain 80 milligrams of potassium. This mineral protects your heart and kidneys and can even regulate blood pressure.

 

On top of that, potassium has been proven to relax muscles, aid them in regular contraction and prevent cramps. Sounds like a good idea to consume some lemon juice after a weightlifting session, right?

 

Potassium also helps your body to retain calcium, which promotes strong and functional bones.

 

We dare you to think of a meal that doesn’t taste good with a squeeze of lemon; we certainly can’t. Plant a lemon tree in your garden today, or grab a few on your next visit to the supermarket.