Saturday, June 7, 2008

When life gives you lemons...

...you can either suck on a sour lemon, or turn it into lemonade. You know I think the plain sour lemon gets a bad rap. Did you know that lemons cleanse the bloodstream and the liver? Additionally, they have been proven to be a helpful digestive aid, and they can help to prevent heart disease and cancer, while also lowering blood pressure. The health benefits of lemons are enormous, and I'm not just talking about the juice, the zest and the pith is where lemons get most of their healthful qualities. In fact, the pith has been proven to help prevent bleeding of the gums when rubbed on them. Not to mention, lemons have also been proven to keep blood vessels from hardening, and they may even help in dissolving gallstones (1). Yet, we want to dilute these qualities in an over abundance of sugar, call it lemonade, and say that this is good.

Don't get me wrong I like lemonade too, but I appreciate being healthy even more. If you must sweeten your lemons consider a healthier alternative such as maple syrup, or agave syrup, or even blackstrap molasses.

I guess the moral of this little quip is, when life gives you lemons, suck on them.

(1) Prescription for Dietary Wellness; Balch, Phyllis A.; pg. 65

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