Lemon: Health Benefits, Nutrients per Serving, Preparation Information, and More

The lemon is a bright yellow citrus fruit. It has its distinctive sour taste because it’s rich in citric acid. It comes from the flowering plant family Rutaceae, and its scientific name is Citrus limon.

The lemon’s unique flavor makes it a popular ingredient in drinks, desserts, and meals. Almost all parts of a lemon can be used in cooking and cleaning.

Exactly where lemons came from isn’t known. But there’s documented evidence of its value from almost 2,000 years ago. The lemon tree grows in subtropical and tropical areas and can grow 10-20 feet tall. Most are grown in Mediterranean countries, as well as China, India, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil – and in California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida in the U.S. You can find fresh lemons year-round in supermarkets.

Lemon juice has many uses, from culinary to medicinal. Lemons are used all over the world in desserts, drinks, sauces, dips, and as a garnish for meat and fish dishes. Lemon juice is a natural cleaner and stain remover. Lemon oil provides the fragrance for perfumes, soaps, and skin creams.

Love lemon water? Don't overdo it. Lemon juice's acidity can wear down tooth enamel.

The most commonly grown lemon in the U.S. is the Eureka lemon. The Lisbon lemon is also popular.

You may also come across the Meyer lemon, a smaller, sweeter lemon that may have gotten its start as a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. These can make good house plants, but you’ll need to bring them inside in the winter if you’re not in a tropical climate.

When you buy a lemon, look for those that are bright and have an even color. It should be firm but not too hard. Store them in the refrigerator to last longer than at room temperature.

The vitamins, fiber, and plant compounds in lemons can be part of a healthy diet. It’s not common to actually eat a fresh lemon – they’re too sour for most tastes – unless you’re using preserved lemons.

Lemons can also provide important health benefits like:

Vitamin C

Lemons contain about 50 milligrams of vitamin C, which is over half the amount of vitamin C needed in your daily diet. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, which helps protect cells from damage. Vitamin C also helps your body make collagen for your skin, helps your body absorb iron, and supports your immune system. Citrus fruits are some of the best food sources of vitamin C.

Lemon also contains a high level of dietary fiber – but you don’t get fiber from juice.

Weight Management

The pectin fiber found in lemons expands once it is ingested, making you feel full sooner and longer. Lemon water is often touted as an effective tool in weight loss and weight management. While there’s nothing wrong with drinking water, there’s nothing magical about adding lemon to water for weight control. It’s also important to note that drinking water may keep you full and help you avoid snacking as effectively as lemon.

Anemia Prevention

Lemon can help your body absorb more iron from plant-based foods in your diet. Maintaining proper iron levels helps prevent anemia, which is a lower-than-average number of red blood cells, often as a result of iron deficiency.

Kidney Stone Prevention

Lemons get their sour taste from their abundance of citric acid. Some studies show that citric acid may help prevent the formation of kidney stones.

Antibacterial Effects

Lemon juice has antibacterial and antifungal properties. The plant compounds in lemon juice concentrate effectively inhibited the growth of salmonella, staphylococcus, and candida infections in one study. It was also effective against one particular antibiotic-resistant bacteria that causes pneumonia and blood infections.

Cancer Prevention and Treatment Research

Lemon juice is a valuable source of nutrients called flavonoids. These are antioxidants, which help protect cells from damage that could lead to cancer. But lemon juice hasn’t been studied for cancer prevention in people. While a healthy diet may help lower the risk of cancer, no one food has been shown to prevent cancer.

Lemon juice is not part of cancer treatment. But scientists have found tiny nanoparticles in lemon juice that – in lab tests on cells – inhibited cell reproduction and activated cancer cell death. This is extremely early research that’s more about searching for new cancer treatments and isn’t based on the lemon juice you’d get in your diet.

Lemon Nutrition

Lemons are an excellent source of:

Nutrients per Serving

A half-cup serving of lemon contains:

Citrus Allergies

If you’re allergic to grass pollen or citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruit, or limes, you may also be allergic to lemons. The most common reactions are itching, burning, or swelling of the mouth and throat. Some people can have headaches or gastrointestinal distress.

Lemon Juice May Erode Dental Enamel

There have been cases of dental erosion in people who drink lemon juice in large amounts. The natural acids found in lemon juice can erode dental enamel if you drink too much of it, too often.

Lemon Juice and Migraines

Lemon juice is high in tyramine. If you are sensitive to tyramine, drinking lemon juice can trigger migraine headaches.

Lemon juice is a flavorful and healthy addition to many recipes. Like all fruits, it contains natural sugar – but not very much. Use it as a recipe directs.

With their distinct sour taste, lemons add a bold flavor to many recipes. Lemon is a popular ingredient in cooking and baking, and you can use almost every part of this versatile fruit.

A simple lemon wedge can add a soothing and refreshing flavor to water and tea.

Hummus, which originated in the Middle East and is now popular worldwide, is traditionally made with lemon juice (as well as chickpeas, tahini, and garlic.)

Preserved lemons are part of traditional Moroccan cuisine. And in India, lemon pickle is a condiment.

Lemon juice and zest, often paired with butter or oil, is a crucial ingredient in many popular seafood and meat dishes as well as desserts.

The rind of the lemon can be zested and added to baked goods, tea, soup, and beverages of all kinds. Here are a few ways to prepare this versatile and vibrant fruit:

Photo Credit:

JGI/Jamie Grill / Getty Images

SOURCES:

Annals of Internal Medicine: “The effect of fruit and vegetable intake on risk for coronary heart disease.”

British Journal of Nutrition: “The digestion of pectin in the human gut and its effect on calcium absorption and large bowel function.”

British Journal of Nutrition: “The effects of fruit juices and fruits on the absorption of iron from a rice meal.”

Chemistry Central Journal: “Citrus fruits as a treasure trove of active natural metabolites that potentially provide benefits for human health.”

Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition: “Lemon Polyphenols Suppress Diet-induced Obesity by Up-Regulation of mRNA Levels of the Enzymes Involved in beta-Oxidation in Mouse White Adipose Tissue.”

Journal of Endourology: “Quantitative assessment of citric acid in lemon juice, lime juice, and commercially-available fruit juice products.”

Stroke: “Serum vitamin C concentration was inversely associated with subsequent 20-year incidence of stroke in a Japanese rural community. The Shibata study.”

National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements.

Purdue University College of Agriculture: “Lemon.”

Real Food Encyclopedia: “Lemons.”

Britannica: “Lemon.”

ESHA Research Inc., Salem, OR: “Juice, Lemon.”

Food Science and Nutrition: “Phytochemical, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities of different citrus juice concentrates.”

Frontiers in Pharmacology: “Anticancer Potential of Citrus Juices and Their Extracts: A Systematic Review of Both Preclinical and Clinical Studies.”

Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry: “Vitamin C in Disease Prevention and Cure: An Overview.”

Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism: “Effect on Blood Pressure of Daily Lemon Ingestion and Walking.”

Oncotarget: “Citrus limon-derived nanovesicles inhibit cancer cell proliferation and suppress CML xenograft growth by inducing TRAIL-mediated cell death.”