During cold most common advice from the doctor is: “Drink more liquids, and don’t forget about vitamin C. Lemonade is always welcome”.

Have you ever asked yourself about lemon origin? True origin of the lemon or on latin Citrus Limun is unknown. Some scientist finds that lemon origin is from northwestern India. In the Mediterranean was distributed by Arabs and its very first uses were as an ornament plant in Islamic gardens. In 1493 lemon seed was brought in Spain by Christopher Columbus, from where it was spread in America. First uses there were also like an ornament. Commercial cultivation of lemons began in California and Florida. Today the world’s leading lemon growers and exporters are Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Cyprus, Lebanon, South Africa and Australia.

Lemon plants grow best in regions with subtropical climate. Best temperature for lemons is between 79-82° F. They are very sensitive to cold and will be damaged or killed by freezing conditions without protection. When the trees are positioned in full sunlight they grow best.

The lemon tree is 10-20 ft in height. Usually it has sharp thorns on the twigs. It is small evergreen tree and belongs to the family Rutaceae. Has a spreading, upright growth habit. The leaves of the lemon tree are green, with oblong or oval shape. Flowers are white on the upper surface and purple outside. Lemon fruit is ellipsoid berry, with a nipple like protuberance at the apex and with yellow color. Because of the oil glands the fruit is aromatic.

Nourishing elements in lemons, like vitamin C, vitamin B, phosphorus, proteins and carbs make them good for health. Flavonoids in lemons contain antioxidant and cancer fight properties. Consuming lemon fruits helps in prevention of diabetes, high blood pressure, constipation, fever, indigestion and many other health problems. There are many health benefits of lemons that have been known for centuries. Most known benefits are their strong antibacterial, antiviral and immune boosting powers and their use as a weight loss agent.

Here we will introduce you to some of the health benefits of lemons:

• Indigestion / constipation

You can improve digestion by adding a few drops of lemon juice on your food. Whenever you have heavy lunch drink mix of soda, lemon juice, cold water, salt and sugar, therefore you improve digestion of the food. This drink is called fresh lemon soda.

• Strengthening the immune system

Foods rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants can help the immune system fight germs that cause flu or cold. This is why lemon is always recommended due to cold, together with other fruits and vegetables.

• Support weight loss

Lemon juice contains pectin. That is a soluble fiber that has been shown to aid in weight loss struggles.

• Prevents the formation of kidney stones

Studies made at the American Urological Association headline the fact that one cup of lemon juice daily can eliminate the occurrence of kidney stones by raising citrate levels in the urine, which prevents the formation of crystals.

• Increasing the absorption of iron

Leading cause of anemia is iron deficiency. When we use iron supplements, doctor always recommend using vitamin C together with the supplement. To prevent anemia we should mix foods rich in vitamin C with iron rich foods. This way we maximize the body’s ability to absorb iron.

• Helps with respiratory disorders

Lemon juice can soothe a person suffering from an asthma attack. Because its high levels of vitamin C helps in dealing with more respiratory and breathing problems.

Despite this lemon is also used for health problems such as rheumatism, toothache, burns, high blood pressure and so on.

Beside health benefits, there are beauty benefits of the lemon too. We can use lemon as a skin brightener, shine eliminator, teeth whitener, lips exfoliator, hair lightener, elbow and knee bleacher and etc. But, about his beauty usages we will make another post for you.