Lemons have always been regarded as valuable fruits, since they are beneficial and useful in everyone’s home. They have been grown since the 16th century in Florida, after being brought to the New World by Christopher Columbus. With their high vitamin C content, lemons, as well as limes, were valued to protect against the development of scurvy.
They were even paid up to $1 per lemon during the California Gold Rush, when they were in high demand. This would still be considered pricey today, which means that it was extremely expensive during the 1800s.
A reason enough for keeping a steady supply of lemons on hand is the vitamin C content alone. However, these bright citrus fruits also contain additional antioxidants, known as flavonoids, which play a beneficial role in fighting heart disease, cancer, and inflammation.
The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry published an article which claims that:
“The anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Citrus flavonoids can play a key role in their activity against several degenerative diseases and particularly brain diseases.”
Lemons have their place in our daily diet, they can be used to make lemon water, for starters, they can be incorporated into vegetable juice, used in salad dressings, squeezed over veggies and so on. But what is even more interesting, lemon has even more favorable uses outside of the kitchen.
Lemon will be your miracle worker when you learn all about its uses around the house, for skin care, cleaning and much more.
Recently, a compilation of more than 5 dozen uses of lemon was published by Business Insider. All these uses are classified in a several categories. You can read all about these in the article below:
Cooking
Clumpy rice: Add a spoonful of lemon juice to the water while the rice is cooking in order to keep rice from sticking. Simply fluff with a fork when it’s done.
Ice cubes: Add some flavor to your drinks by adding lemon slices to your ice cube trays.
Prevent browning on fruits and veggies: Soak cut-up apples, cauliflower, bananas, pears,potatoes, and avocados in a bowl of cold lemon water to prevent browning.
Buttermilk substitute: To make a fine substitute for buttermilk for the recipe you prepare, add two tablespoons of lemon juice to a cup of milk, and leave to sit for 15 minutes.
Sour cream substitute: For a sour cream alternative, add lemon juice to whipped cream and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Revive limp lettuce: Add the juice of half a lemon to a bowl of cold water, then, soak the soggy lettuce leaves. Leave it for an hour in the fridge and then dry the now-crisp leaves.
Marinade: Lemon can also help you prepare a homemade marinade. Combine lemon juice with your favorite oils and herbs to marinate meats. The acidic lemon juice helps break down the meat so the flavor of the marinade can infuse it.
Health
Coughs: Sip hot lemon water with honey to help reduce mucous buildup and relieve coughs.
Sore throat: Gargling with lemon water may soothe a sore throat while consuming lemon water provides vitamin C for your immune system. This is due to its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.
Lemon water: This fantastic mixture provides you with vitamin C and potassium while helping with digestion and immune system health.
Skin rashes: Relieve your pain by soaking a cotton ball in lemon juice and apply it to rashes, such as poison ivy.
Insect bites: Lemon juice can also help to relieve the swelling and itching of insect bites.
Warts: Coating warts with lemon juice may help in their elimination and accelerated recovery.
Canker sores: As mentioned above, lemon juice has antifungal and antibacterial properties, so gargling with a cup of hot lemon water may help speed the healing of canker sores.
Beauty
Age spots and freckles: Fade age spots and freckles by applying lemon juice with a cotton swab.
Exfoliator: A combination of lemon juice, sugar, olive oil, and honey makes a nourishing exfoliating scrub for your face and body.
Acne: Lemon juice is a natural astringent. Thus, it can help fight acne if applied to your face twice a day. Let it sit for 10 minutes each time, then rinse with cool water.
Brightening moisturizer: Mix coconut oil with a few drops of lemon juice. Apply this mixture as a moisturizer and it will help to hydrate and brighten your skin.
Hair lightener: Before heading out in the sun, apply a combination of lemon juice with almond or coconut oil to your hair. The oil will prevent its drying, and the lemon will lighten your hair.
Dandruff: Massage two tablespoons of lemon juice into your scalp then rinse with lemon water. Repeat as necessary until you resolve this issue.
Whiten nails: For this purpose, you need a combination of lemon juice and olive oil. Soak your nails in it. While the lemon juice brightens your nails, the olive oil will help strengthen them.