The many benefits of lime juice

Limes may not be what you would choose for an in-between meal or afternoon snack, but you cannot overemphasise the power of lime when you want to bring out the flavour of other foods. Have you ever flavoured your
tea with lime or combined lime juice with olive oil, freshly crushed garlic and pepper to make a light and refreshing salad dressing? Wonderful as a flavour, it also has a lot of health benefits!
Limes containss unique flavonoid compounds that have antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. While these flavonoids have been shown to stop cell division in many cancer cell lines, they are perhaps most interesting for their antibiotic effects. In several villages where cholera epidemics had occurred, the inclusion of lime juice during the main meal of the day was found to have been protective against the contraction of cholera.
The healing properties of limes cannot be overemphasised as studies have shown that cell cycles, including the decision of a cell makes about whether to divide or die are altered by lime juice.  In addition to their unique phytonutrient properties, limes are an excellent source of vitamin C, one of the most important antioxidants in nature. Vitamin C travels through the body neutralizing any free radicals it comes in contact with. Vital to the function of a strong immune system, a little extra vitamin C gotten from lime may be useful in conditions like colds, flu, and recurrent ear infections.
Due to their high content of this vitamin, lime provides humans with protection against inflammatory polyarthritis, a form of rheumatoid arthritis involving two or more joints.
Limonin is present in lime in the form of limonin glucoside, in which limonin is attached to a glucose molecule. Our bodies easily digest this compound, cleaving off the sugar and releasing limonin which have been shown to help fight cancers of the mouth, skin, lung, breast, stomach and colon. Limonin is long acting as research has shown that traces of limonin would still be present in the bloodstream even 24 hours after consumption of lime! Limonin’s bioavailability and persistence may help explain why lime is a potent anti-carcinogen that may prevent cancerous cells from proliferating.
Choose limes that are firm and heavy for their size, free of decay and mould. They should have a glossy skin that is deep green in colour; although limes turn more yellow as they ripen, they are at the height of their lively, tart flavour when they are green in colour.
Always juice them when they are at room temperature or place them in a bowl of warm water for several minutes as they will produce more juice when warmer.


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