Lemons + Lemon Slice “Tea”

Lemons, Lemons, Lemons

lemlemons.jpgLemon cultivars can be sweet, sour, and downright pucker-inducing. In the kitchen, they can be used in savory dishes and sweet treats, as well as employed as antibacterial cleaning agents. They’re good for digestion, too. That’s a lot of work packed into these little yellow fruits!

Like other citrus fruits, lemons are high in vitamin C, and they also contain small amounts of potassium, folate, and B6. When consumed along with iron-rich foods, vitamin C may help the body absorb more of this mineral. (A good tip for patients who tend toward iron deficiency anemia. Who wouldn’t want lemon garlic lamb kebabs? Or, for vegetarians, how about fresh squeezed lemon juice on an iron-rich bean salad?)

The acidity of lemons may help aid digestion, and their pectin—a soluble fiber—may help reduce total cholesterol as well as improve bowel health. (It should be noted, however, that lemon juice doesn’t provide fiber. For that, the pulp of the fruit must be consumed. A tall order, perhaps, for people who don’t like the sour taste, but grilling lemons is a way to bring out their sweetness. Preserving lemons in salt or with spices is another way to tone down the tartness and bring out the sweet zing while making the pulp very soft and easy to eat—including the rind!.

What’s the Difference Between Meyer Lemons and Regular Lemons?

Lemons are sometimes promoted as a weight loss aid. While squeezing a bit of fresh lemon juice on a salad or even eating the pulp of a lemon isn’t going to put bariatric physicians out of business, there’s some evidence that lemons may help just a little in the battle of the bulge. Mouse studies indicate that lemon polyphenols suppress body weight gain and body fat accumulation by “increasing peroxisomal beta-oxidation through up-regulation of the mRNA level of acyl-CoA oxidase in the liver and white adipose tissue.” Lemon polyphenols also improved serum levels of insulin, glucose and leptin, which may be of benefit to individuals with insulin resistance and/or metabolic syndrome. Additionally, adding a splash of lemon juice to water may help individuals drink more of it throughout the day, which may translate into slightly greater weight loss, owing to the thermogenic effect of water. (Many patients simply don’t like to drink water, and a little bit of lemon may make it more appealing.)

Other populations that may benefit from increasing lemon fruit and juice intake are those at risk for kidney stones or those with a history of stones. The high content of citric acid in lemons may help increase urine volume (particularly if added to beverages) and raise urine pH, creating an unfavorable environment for stone formation. It also increases urinary citrate excretion, with citrate acting as a natural inhibitor of urinary crystallization. “Achieving therapeutic urinary citrate concentration is one clinical target in the medical management of calcium urolithiasis”—and drinking plenty of lemon juice might be one way to boost urinary citrate levels.

Lemon juice is a powerful antimicrobial agent, which accounts for the use of lemon essential oil in many household cleaning products, particularly those used to clean kitchen counters and cutting boards. Lemon juice has demonstrated antibacterial effects against E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and strains of Salmonella, as well as anti fungal effects against Candida Albicans. Another helpful thing lemons do in the kitchen is keep apples, bananas, pears, and avocados from turning brown when they’re cut prior to adding to a recipe. (Other citrus juice will do this as well, such as orange and lime.)

What’s the Difference Between Meyer Lemons and Regular Lemons?

Here is a great article from David Wolf-

20 Incredible Things Happen When You Add Lemon Water to Your Morning Routine

Organic Apples/Apple Cider Vinegar

Organic Apples/Apple Cider Vinegar

There are over 7500 cultivated varieties of apples.  Along with roses, apples belong to the Rosaceae family.  They grow on a deciduous tree that blossoms in the spring and yield its fruit in late summer/early autumn.

The saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” originated in 19th century Wales.  The reasons why are as follow.

  • Apples are a source of both soluble and insoluble fiber………  Soluble fiber helps to prevent cholesterol buildup in the lining of the blood vessel walls, thus helping reduce the incident of atherosclerosis and heart disease.
  •   The insoluble fiber in apples provides bulk in the intestinal tract, holding water to cleanse and move food quickly through the digestive system.  Apples are often referred to as “nature’s broom”.
  • They also contain calcium, phosphorous, potassium and Vitamin C.  However the majority of the fiber and nutrients are actually in the peel itself.  So it is imperative to eat the peel!
  • Non-organic apples known as conventional apples currently rank higher than any other fruit or vegetable in terms of pesticide residue–approximately 56 chemical residues per apple!
  • Since it is imperative to eat the peel, when picking apples, always choose ORGANIC.

Apples can be eaten in a variety of ways.  Apple slices with a sprinkle of Celtic Sea Salt brings out the delicious sweetness of the fruit itself. Organic nut butter with apple also a tasty healthy treat–especially for the young’uns. And let’s not forget good ol apple sauce.

Apple Cider Vinegar

 Apples/Apple Cider VinegarApple cider vinegar is one of the oldest, most powerful, healing home remedies imaginable. 10,000 years + to be exact.

Apple cider vinegar is made when fermented cider is fermented a second time. The double fermentation fortifies it with extra acids and enzymes.  Apple cider vinegar is used to treat about a gazillion conditions.

Top 15 Benefits of Using Apple Cider Vinegar

Hippocrates used apple cider vinegar to support his patients’ health. Being no fool, he mixed it with honey both for taste and the magnanimous benefits of good quality honey. Both apple cider vinegar and honey have a low pH, but both turn alkaline when consumed.

Many people have too much acidity in their bodies, largely due to stressful lifestyles, unhealthy foods, and eating too much acidic animal protein.

Maintaining a proper pH balance is extremely important for your health. It is key for the optimal functioning of all your body’s systems: digestive, immune, circulatory, muscular, respiratory, nervous, and even your reproductive system. Some consider Apple Cider Vinegar to be the         “roto-rooter” of all joint problems and the best GOUT cure ever!!

NOTE: On every single office visit, I check the Ph. Most often  it is acidic, sometimes balanced and rarely alkaline..

Please buy the book by Paul & Patricia Bragg,  Here is the Bragg Library Link. Please go to the Bragg website.  Please read everything Bragg.

Just a few of the benefits of ACV

  • Healthy oxidation and cholesterol
  • Normal cardiovascular support
  • Healthy cognitive function
  • Normal lymphatic drainage and normal detoxification processes
  • Athletic recovery
  • NOTE: For Gut Health, Mix  2 or 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar with a teaspoon of organic honey in a cup of warm water, and sip slowly. Alternatively you can use it to pour it on your salad.

NOTE: Apple Cider Vinegar pills or capsules do not work.

NOTE: I only use Braggs I t has been around since 1912

Dosing:  The Braggs in their book have a ton of dosing recommendations. t is said a tablespoon a day keeps the doctor away. Depending on the situation, a good rule of thumb is 2 ounces of ACV in 4-6 ounces water before meals; then the Hippocratic ACV with honey warm water drink; then there is salad dressings galore.

NOTE: To aid in digestion, I am always recommending Hydrochloric Acid such as HCL Pro-Zyme or Betaine HCL w Pepsin. HOWEVER, I would much prefer the food source of Apple Cider Vinegar over the pills and NEVER Apple Cider Vinegar pills.. These three posts below explain a little bit about Acid, Stomach, Proton Pumps, etc.

Hydrochloric Acid Deficiency

Proton Pump Inhibitors

Proton Pump Inhibitors & Kidney Disease