In addition to its deliciously tangy taste, which can be used for everything from starters to desserts, lemons are packed with health benefits. While it’s preferable to use fresh, whole lemons – organic if possible – you can also enjoy the benefits of this amazing citrus fruit in the form of bottled juice… as long as you choose wisely. Here’s what you need to bear in mind.
Lemons are good for everything! Used in a thousand and one ways in the kitchen, to give a sauce, a cake, a fish and much more, the yellow lemon is also acclaimed for its many health benefits.
Rich in flavonoids, limonoids, pectin, vitamin C, as well as iron and copper, this citrus fruit contains a detonating composition of antioxidant molecules, giving it numerous benefits for the body.
- High antioxidant power helps neutralize the body’s free radicals
- Anti-inflammatory properties
- Slimming ally
- Promotes cardiovascular health
- Helps prevent certain cancers and chronic diseases
To take full advantage of the benefits of lemons, it’s best to take the time to squeeze them yourself. But since you don’t necessarily have lemons to hand, you can also opt for bottled lemon juice. If you know how to choose it properly, bottled lemon juice has the same properties as fresh lemon juice.
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Avoid lemon juice from concentrate
The first thing to do is check that the juice is indeed 100% lemon juice. Forget about products labelled « lemon juice from concentrate », as these are obtained after a dehydration stage that alters the lemon’s properties, particularly its vitamin C content.
Check additives and preservatives
Another thing to check on the label is the presence of ingredients other than lemon. Lemon is rarely the only ingredient. To make the most of lemon’s benefits, choose a juice that contains no additives or preservatives, and no added water. In short, good bottled lemon juice contains lemon, and that’s all there is to it.
Finally, whenever possible, choose a product made from organic, local lemons.
Give preference to glass bottles
More natural and ecological (and sometimes even returnable), glass bottles are preferable to the plastic bottles in which most supermarket lemon juices are packaged.
Glass bottles are easier to find in organic stores and village or local greengrocers.