The health benefits of lime water include weight loss, improved digestion, reduced respiratory and urinary disorders, relief from constipation, and treatment of scurvy, piles, peptic ulcer, gout, and gums. It also aids in skincare and eye care.
You may think limes are not that impressive unless they are garnishing your favorite drink. Or you are vacationing where cocktails such as margaritas, mojitos are mixed at 8:00 am. Well, we want you to think again! There are many health benefits to lime water other than drowning your sorrows in Key Largo!
The pericarp may be described in lime, bearing the scientific name Citrus aurantifolia, which has been well known for its medicinal properties and uses in the treatment of various ailments for ages. Due to its unique flavor, lime fruit is widely consumed all over the world and has multiple culinary and non-culinary uses. It is also used in the preparation of various cosmetics, health products. Extracted from the lime peel or skin, and lime essential oil is extensively used in aromatherapy and perfumes.
Lime Nutrition Facts
Lime consists of water and is an excellent source of vitamin C. It is also rich in dietary fiber and minerals like calcium, iron, potassium, copper, magnesium, and phosphorous. Limes also contains Thiamin and Riboflavin.
The best thing about lime is that it has the least amount of calories, carbohydrates, and fats. Moreover, lime peel and pulp are also rich in diverse phytochemicals like polyphenols and terpenes.
Source: USDA
A medium-sized (67g) lime contains 19.5mg of Vitamin-C providing 22% of your daily need.
Health Benefits Of Lime & Lime Water
Everyone knows that limes are an excellent source of vitamin C and can keep those scurvy pirates away, but did you know all the other health benefits of limes? Limes can do a lot more for our skin and overall health than just adding a refreshing zest to any drink, cleansing our body, and boosting immunity. Let’s take a look at some of the health benefits lime and lime water offer.
Manages Diabetes
According to the American Diabetes Association, limes and other citrus fruits are considered a superfood for diabetes for many reasons. Mainly, high levels of soluble fiber found in limes make it ideal for dietary support to help regulate the body’s absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, reducing the occurrence of blood sugar spikes that are a severe risk to diabetic patients. Also, lime and other citrus fruits have a low glycemic index, which means they will not cause an unexpected spike in glucose levels.
Prevents Heart Diseases
That same soluble fiber which can help people with diabetes maintain their blood sugar levels can also lower blood pressure and eliminate the presence of LDL cholesterol (“bad cholesterol”). Soluble fiber can cut down on inflammation of the blood vessels. It is a known preventative measure against heart diseases, heart attacks, and strokes.
Treats Respiratory Disorders
The flavonoid-rich oil extracted from limes is extensively used in anti-congestive medicines such as balms, vaporizers, and inhalers due to the presence of kaempferol. Just scratching the peel of a lime and inhaling it gives immediate relief from congestion and nausea.
Lime Juice Rejuvenates Skin
Lime juice can be consumed orally and used in topical applications. It rejuvenates the skin and protects it from infections. It also helps reduce body odor due to the presence of high amounts of vitamin C and flavonoids in it. Both lime juice and lime essential oil are high in antioxidants and have antibiotic and disinfectant properties.
Also, lime juice is a great cleansing agent. It can efficiently increase the cleansing properties of any facial cleanser or shampoo by merely adding 2-3 drops of it.
When applied externally to the skin its acids scrub out dead cells and cure dandruff, rashes, and bruises. It can also be used to create a refreshing bathing experience if its juice or oil is mixed in your bath.
Aids in Digestion
Lime has an irresistible aroma which causes your mouth to water, and this primarily aids digestion (the digestive saliva floods your mouth even before you taste it). The natural acidity of lime does the rest.
While they break down the macromolecules of the food, the flavonoids, the compounds found in the fragrant oils extracted from lime, stimulate the digestive system and increase secretion of digestive juices, bile, and acids. This flood of flavonoids also encourages peristaltic motion. Eating lime pickles is the reason behind consumed along with lunch and dinner in India and various neighboring countries.
Lime Water Promotes Weight Loss
A glass of warm water with a full lime’s worth of juice is an excellent weight reducer as well as a brilliant refresher and antioxidant drink. The citric acid present in lime is an excellent fat burner. You can consume two glasses of warm water with lime juice a day and see remarkable results within a week.
Relieves Constipation
Primarily, the ample amount of acid present in lime helps clear the excretory system by washing and cleaning the tracts, just as some acids are used to clean floors and toilets. The roughage in lime is also helpful in easing constipation. An overdose of lime juice with salt also acts as an excellent purgative without any side effects, thereby relieving constipation.
Cures Fever
If someone is suffering from a fever, limes or lime juice can be of great importance. Citrus fruits, in general, have fever-reducing qualities because vitamin C found in high concentrations in them, which naturally lowers the temperature of the body.
Protects Eye
Vitamin-C again! Its antioxidant properties protect eyes from aging and macular degeneration. On top of that, flavonoids help protect them from infections.
Heals Peptic Ulcer
In addition to vitamin C, lime contains particular compounds called flavonoids (limonoids such as limonin glucoside) which have antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, antibiotic, and detoxifying properties that stimulate the healing process of peptic and oral ulcers.
Why You Should Drink Lime Water in the Morning
Plain water is boring. When you get up in the morning and want something to drink — maybe you’re trying to get off caffeine so coffee and tea aren’t options — water just does not seem appetizing. Replacing a morning beverage with something sweet, like orange juice, is hardly a healthy substitute, so you’re out of luck.
This is where Mother Nature can offer some help to kickstart your mornings, re-ignite your afternoons, and soothe your evenings. Adding a few slices of lime and cucumber or pouring a few drops of freshly squeezed lime juice to your water can seriously enhance your experience of regular old boring water. Like the lemon water — the high achieving older sibling of all citrus fruits — the lime water has a lot of health benefits to offer.
It’s Nutritious
The best thing for water is a great water filter. The second best thing for your water is a way to nutritionally enhance it. Limes do just that. Through providing a natural source of vitamin C, to all-important trace minerals (zinc, potassium, magnesium, and calcium for starters) that help regulate various systems in your body, to the vital citric acid for digestion and metabolism, and to even assisting in reducing inflammation, limes have a lot to offer in the way of health. Your body needs and wants the health benefits that lime offers, so give your body a little love and throw in limes!
It’s Fun
For starters, it’s simply more fun to add some color and zest to your water. Changing up even the small things in your daily life goes a long way to give you an upper hand in growing and maintaining healthy habits.
Whether it be bringing an exercise ball to the office, playing some hoop during your lunch break, or adding some lime to your water, giving a little variety to your day helps you get the most out of every minute. Fun is an underrated factor in health and deserves some more respect. Allow yourself some variety, spice up the mundane thing, and watch it transform you!
It’s Refreshing
Look, life is hard and days are long. We all need refreshment and regeneration — it’s why we sleep on comfy mattresses, eat out at nice restaurants, and plan last-minute get-away vacations.
Lime water is not the solution to all of your problems, but it will help to rejuvenate and restore your energy so that you can feel renewed. Even one sip of a cool citrus drink will help animate a dull moment. Better yet, citrus is the kick in the pants that says: you can do it! Thankfully, in the case of the lime, it’s not just talking.
Get yourself some seltzer water, mix in a couple of ounces of lime juice, and a few drops of stevia, and you have some truly refreshing limeade!
Dr. Berg
How to Easily Make Healthy Lime Water
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of cold water
- 2 limes, medium sized
- 1 pinch of salt
- Lime slices for garnish (optional)
- Mint leaves (optional)
Directions:
- Slice the limes and squeeze them into the water.
- Put a pinch of salt
- Pour over a glass filled with ice.
- Add a new flavor by putting some mint leaves. Garnish it with lime slices to make your lime water glass/pitcher even more attractive and make it Instagram-worthy.
Here you have your lime water.
Conclusion
To sum up, limes can be eaten as fruits, juice or used in a lot of dishes and cocktails. Lime helps enhance the taste of any regular food. Lime juice adds a tart flavor to soups, salads, vegetables, and also baked foods. Squeezing some lime on a roasted chicken can add a tangy taste to it.
Limes are very rich in vitamin C and antioxidants that offer health benefits. Consuming limes on a daily basis offers to strengthens your immune system and reduces the risks of many diseases. So try to keep it in your daily meal to gain all the health benefits of lime. Limes also have many surprising medicinal, culinary, and cosmetic uses.
About the Author
Lori Bogedin is a health and wellness writer and editor of TwigsCafe.com. She is in the restaurant business since 1999. In 2016 she was named one of the "Top Women in Business" by Northeastern Pennsylvania Business Journal.
