Is Lemon Juice Really a Superfood?

Oranges may not be the only fruit after all!  Lemon’s are a true super food and pack a pretty powerful punch, adding not only flavour to your cooking, but a ton of health benefits too.

Like many fruits and vegetables, lemons are packed full of fabulous flavonoids which contain vital antioxidants, for combating free-radical damage.  Here are some reasons why lemons are so useful in treating so many ailments and conditions.

1. You can help prevent kidney stones by drinking one half-cup of lemon juice every day you can raise citrate levels in the urine. Studies have shown that this can even protect against calcium stones in the kidney.
2. Lemon juice contains pectin, a soluble fiber that has been shown to aid in weight-loss struggles.
3. Forget coffee in the morning and start your day off with hot water and fresh lemon juice to stimulate your digestive tract and add vitamin C.
4. Got a sore throat?  Try mixing lemon juice with honey you can help sooth the discomfort that comes from a nasty sore throat.
5. Got an itch you can scratch?  Poison ivy or insect bites can be relieved with a combination of lemon juice and cornstarch.
6. In addition to vitamin C, lemons offer 80 milligrams of potassium that helps your body stay strong and nimble.
7. The days of starving a fever are gone!  When you’ve got a temperature, try drinking a lemon juice mixture to help bring your fever down faster.
8. Although they seem acidic, lemons are in fact a surprisingly good source of an alkaline food that can help balance your body's pH.
9. And finally, studies have shown lemons possessing anticancer fruit liminoids, compounds that protect your cells from damage that can lead to the formation of cancer cells.
10. Ancient Egyptians believed that eating lemons and drinking lemon juice was an effective protection against a variety of poisons.

Getting To Know - The Burdock Plant

Burdock root (Arctium lappa), is a large perennial thistle plant that grows throughout Europe and Asia and has been known for its healing properties for many centuries and was commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat many different illnesses.  It is rich in calcium, chlorogenic acid, flavonoids, iron, inulin, lactone, mucilage, polyacetylenes, potassium, resin, tannin, and taraxosterol.  In Asia, the taproot of young burdock plant is harvested and eaten as a root vegetable.  It has a gummy consistency and is sweet to the taste.

Traditional Uses for Burdock Root

As Burdock has many medicinal qualities all its parts are used in many herbal remedies: the leaves (mainly for tea), the burrs, the seed, the stem and the root.  Traditionally the burdock root was used as a diuretic, diaphoretic, and a blood purifying agent. But it wasn’t just the root that was used.  The compressed seeds of the burdock were used in folk medicine to make a tincture that provided relief for measles and arthritis, tonsillitis and throat pain, and viruses like the common cold. It can be used topically to treat skin conditions like ulcers, acne, eczema, and psoriasis.  By extracting oil from the roots or the burs, scalp treatments are produced which help treat dandruff and prevent hair loss.  Burdock oil is rich in phytosterols and essential fatty acids and this is said to improve hair strength, shine, and body.  The leaves of the burdock have even been used in pain management and to help speed up recovery time in burn patients.  And most encouraging of all, in Russia and India, burdock root is used in oncology for its cancer-curing properties.  It is believed by many herbalists that burdock root can stop cancer cells from metastasizing.

Essiac for Cancer

In the 1920s, nurse Rene Caisse marketed a cancer-fighting herbal preparation containing burdock that was based on a traditional Ojibwa medicine. The exact formula remains secret, but contains burdock, slippery elm, sheep sorrel and Turkish rhubarb. Taken in a tea, it continues to be used as an alternative anti-cancer remedy. The National Cancer Institute states that several reputable scientific studies have found no proof that Essiac is effective in slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells, and it has not been approved by the FDA as a drug. Consult your doctor before using Essiac or burdock for cancer.

Did You Know

Burdock is also known as Fox's Clote, Thorny Burr, Beggar's Buttons, Cockle Buttons, Love Leaves, Philanthropium, Personata, Happy Major and Clot-Bur.

Burdock is also consumed as a vegetable in Japan, where it's called Gobo.

Because burdock root suppress any sudden increase in blood sugar level, it is effective for high blood pressure and diabetes.  It also decreases inflammation, throat swelling, and aches.

The fibers in burdock root are very tough and do not digest when eaten, so act as a great digestive cleanser.

Further Reading:

http://www.chinese-herbs.org/burdock/

http://fasting.ws/cancer/burdock-cancer

http://www.gentle-stress-relief.com/benefits-of-burdock.html