A Walk on the Natural Side

Hello everyone I hope your week is going wonderful and many blessings come your way. This week I would love to discuss Lemons and the Power they hold. Lemons have been around for ages and are such a versatile fruit. The world uses them in a vast amount of different ways. A more traditional way of using them would be medicinally to help aid the body on a daily basis.

Lemons have an array of benefits for the human body. As common as these little citrus treats are in our everyday life, within them holds a powerful arsenal of vitamins and minerals. Lemons are well known for their excellent source of Vitamin C which helps boost the immune system and minimize the effects that cortisol (the stress hormone) can have on the body. As a natural antioxidant, it helps protect cells against damage from free radicals. Lemons also have antibacterial and antiviral properties, helping create a stronger immune system for your body.

Being a great detoxifier and cleanser all around! When you drink lemon water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, you are kick starting your metabolism and hydrating all of your organs and feeding your largest organ, your skin with an important dose of vitamin folate that will help eliminate those toxins from your body and help nourish your skin.

Lemons play a very important role in the detoxification of our body. It works especially well for the liver and the kidneys. Drinking Lemon water counteracts and protects you against kidney stones. The citrates from the lemon will break down and dissolve the stones and help prevent them.

There are other benefits to adding lemon to your water. Lemons are known to have anti-inflammatory properties and can improve heart health and fight cholesterol. As a natural diuretic It can also reduce water retention. They have a good amount of fiber in them as well which helps aid in digestion, so it is extremely useful for weight loss and reducing bloating.

Drinking a glass of lemon water 20 to 30 mins before a meal gives you that full feeling which results in eating less. Lemons can also help the body maintain a normal Ph Balance. Having that balanced Ph helps your bodily systems function properly. It takes about 2 lemons a day to give our body all the wonderful medicinal benefits it has to offer.

For this reason, Lemons can help us in so many ways and they are a special gift for us to be thankful for. In addition to drinking lemon water in the morning you can also drink a bottle of it before you go to bed. When your body is at a state of rest and not digesting anything, it uses this prime time to do most of its healing and recovering so adding some Lemon water would give it that extra boost. I hope this helps you in your life as it does in mine.

Together we can walk back to Mother Nature’s intended bounty that was given to all living things and if you are blessed to have one of these Citrus Tree Treasures then good for you, I believe everyone should have one of these beauties in a pot or in the ground to be able to enjoy!

Recipes

Shrimp Ceviche

Prep: 25mins

1⁄2 a red onion diced

2-3 garlic cloves minced up

1⁄2 cup chopped cilantro

1 jalapeño pepper deseeded & finely chopped

1 cup of cherry tomatoes halved

1 diced cucumber

1 tbsp olive oil

1-1 1/2 tsp of salt

1⁄4 tsp of black pepper

(mix/toss together)

2 pounds of small de shelled/deveined raw shrimp

( Toss shrimp in skillet and cook until white then immediately take off stove)

(let cool for a minute before adding lemon juice)

● 3⁄4 cup of fresh lemon juice

Once cooled down shrimp is in lemon juice then add the rest to your bowl and mix it up and put

it in the refrigerator for 30 mins to an 1 hour. My family enjoys eating this with crackers.

An old remedy during cold and flu season passed through generations of every family.

A Hot toddy

1 lemon

1 shot of any kind of whiskey you like

3-4 tsp of locally harvested honey is preferred for the best benefits

8 ounces of water

1 Cinnamon stick

-bring water to a simmer

-remove from stove and add the whiskey, honey and stir with cinnamon stick

-let it get to a warm temperature before you add the Lemon juice(lemon juice is heat sensitive

and if added to hot water you will lose some of its Vit-C power punch)

Stir in the lemon juice and drink