Lemon

Lemon

Lemon

What is it:

Lemon is a citrus fruit native to southern Asia. Today, they are grown mostly in tropical countries, with India growing the most. They are typically either eaten as a topping or ingredient in many foods, made into lemonade, or dehydrated for use in packaged foods.

Rating:

Lemon contains vitamin C, fiber, and other plant compounds which are all good for heart health. Hesperetin, a plant compound in lemon, may lower cholesterol. Lemon juice also may help prevent kidney stones in those with a history of kidney stones. Lemons can also help improve the absorption of iron from plant foods.

Resources:

  1. Hesperetin reduces lipids in rats (animal study)
  2. Lemon juice effective treatment for kidney stones (prospective randomized trial)
  3. Fruit’s effect on iron absorption (in vivo study)

How we rate ingredients

Health is like a bank account, certain ingredients make a deposit into your health bank, meaning they add to
your health. Certain ingredients withdraw from your health bank. We want health promoting ingredients in our diet. To keep things simple, we rate ingredients on a green, yellow, red scale:

Clean

It is naturally occurring in food and has no harmful effects on the body. It is real food. It is health promoting.

Caution

It goes into one or more of the below categories

  • It is not naturally occurring in food but doesn’t have data showing it has a harmful effect on the body (additives like Gellan Gum)
  • It is naturally occurring but can have some harmful effects on the body (added sugars, oils, gums etc.)

We Avoid

It is known to have a harmful effect on the body (ex. All food colorings, Natural Flavors, MSG, Potassium bromate, aspartame, artificial flavors)

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