Page 10 - Active Living Magazine

NUTRITION
WHEN LIFE Starting your day with one

GIVES YOU 8-ounce glass of water with
the juice and pulp from
half a lemon not only helps
LEMONS… can provide as much as 70
your body to hydrate, but

YOU GET GREAT percent of your daily recom-
mended intake of vitamin
C, supporting your immune
NUTRITION! system, skin glow and all
round well-being.

By Anja Springthorpe

hought to originate supports healthy bowel habits round, but that does not mean
from Asia, lemons and detoxification, prolongs sati- one can’t always enjoy the
these days are widely ety and is associated with healthy nutritional perks. Lemon juice
available and featured cholesterol levels. Adding not can be frozen in ice cube trays
Tin countless recipes, only the juice, but also the pulp and safely stored in the freezer
skin care regimes and they add and zest of a lemon to your rec- for up to four months. Fresh is
some zing to various refresh- ipes or beverages will raise the always preferable, as some nutri-
ments. Despite lemons’ common nutritional value by default. ents may get lost in the freezing
use, their nutritional value is often Depending on location, lem- process, however, this is an easy
somewhat overlooked. ons may not be in season all year and convenient alternative.
Being a member of the citrus
family, lemons deliver great
amounts of vitamin C, which Vitamin C is an indispensable
provides many health benefits, building block for the production
such as boosting the immune of collagen
system. Studies found that
immune cells are stronger and
more effective in protecting
from bacteria and viruses if
ample of vitamin C is present in
the body. It doesn’t stop there.
Vitamin C is an indispensable
building block for the produc-
tion of collagen, which is the
structural component of skin,
keeping it firm and taut. What’s
not to like about that?
It is not only the juice of
lemons which brings along great
nutritional value. The pulp and
peel of lemons contain pectin,
a type of soluble fiber which
attracts water from your diges-
tive tract to form a gel. This gel

10 10