Reasons Why Fresh Lime Juice Is Extremely Good For You
With so many new super foods being pushed and promoted, most people forget about the simple foods that we should be eating and what benefits they give us. Limes are one of those foods that most of us have seemed to have forgotten and only seem to have it with our cocktails. Limes are known for their fresh, bright flavours, but the benefits of limes are not that widely known. Below we’ll go over a few of the many benefits fresh lime juice can give you to enhance your general well being.
1. Lower Cholesterol
Did you know that limes can lower your cholesterol? One of the main flavour components found in lime is called hesperidin and it has been scientifically proven to lower the bad cholesterol levels. You should incorporate limes into daily meals and to get the most cholesterol-lowering benefits, try to eat as much of the white pith as you can.
2. Prevents Kidney Stones
Kidney stones are nasty, painful and can cause a lot of issues. Fresh lime juice can help you prevent them from forming in the first place. Most people know that you should eat oranges or grapefruit for this, but limes contain more citric acid than both these fruits. This citric acid actually inhibits the crystallized calcium that makes up kidney stones to form, so drink water with fresh lime juice.
3. Anti-Carcinogenic
Limes have anti-carcinogenic properties that have been shown to prevent cancer. It has been shown that it mostly helps with cancers in the colon, stomach and blood. Although the science behind it isn’t known, it has been shown that limonoids actually cause the cells of cancer to die. These same limonoids cleanse the blood of free radicals more effectively than green tea.
4. Anti-Aging
As you age, the melanin in your skin can build up and leave you with spots which we all know as age spots. The peel of a lime contains something that actually inhibits melanin production so using a mask or face wash with lime peel in it can help you reduce the sign of age spots.
5. Great for Women
Two of the most important nutrients a lime contains is calcium and folate which are great for women who are at a childbearing age and for post-menopausal women. So if you are a woman or you have a special lady in your life, you should encourage her to up her intake of limes. One lime contains over 22 milligrams of calcium and 5 micrograms of folate. You can try adding fresh lime juice over salad, fish, or just squeeze it into a glass of water in the morning.