Eating Lemons Every Day? Here’s What Really Happens to Your Body

Eating Lemons Every Day? Here’s What Really Happens to Your Body

Eating lemons daily gives your body a steady supply of vitamin C and antioxidants that help protect your heart and reduce cell damage. Lemons also provide potassium, vitamin B6, and thiamin. Simple habits like adding lemon to water or tea or using lemon zest in cooking make it easy to enjoy this citrus fruit regularly. Lemons (Citrus limon) are packed with vitamin C and antioxidants that support heart health, improve iron absorption, and may even reduce the risk of kidney stones.

1. Lower Risk of Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are hard mineral deposits that form in the kidneys and urinary tract. One way to prevent them is by increasing urine citrate levels or making urine less acidic. Lemons naturally contain citric acid, a form of citrate that helps raise urine citrate levels. Citric acid binds with calcium in urine, helping prevent oversaturation and stopping calcium oxalate crystals from growing into kidney stones.

Drinking about 4 ounces of lemon juice concentrate mixed with water each day may help lower the risk of kidney stones. If urine is very acidic, an alkali citrate such as potassium citrate may be more effective. It’s best to talk with a doctor about your personal kidney stone risk and the most suitable prevention approach.

2. Improved Heart Health

Lemons are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants that play a role in protecting heart health. Vitamin C helps shield cells from damage caused by free radicals, which may lower the risk of plaque buildup in the arteries. This buildup is linked to heart attacks and strokes.

Lemons also contain phenolic antioxidants that support healthy blood pressure, improve endothelial function, and help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Endothelial function refers to how smoothly blood flows through your blood vessels. Poor endothelial function, along with high blood pressure and high LDL cholesterol, increases the risk of heart disease. Research shows that higher fruit and vegetable intake is associated with lower rates of heart disease, cancer, and overall mortality, and eating lemons contributes to that daily intake.

3. Better Iron Absorption

One lemon provides over 30% of the daily value for vitamin C, a key nutrient for iron absorption. Vitamin C helps your body absorb non-heme iron, which is the type of iron found in plant foods and fortified products like bread and cereals.

Combining vitamin C-rich foods with iron sources improves iron absorption, which can be especially helpful for people who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet. This can help prevent iron deficiency anemia, a condition where the body doesn’t have enough iron to produce hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells.

4. Less Cell Damage

Citrus fruits, including lemons, are rich in antioxidants that help protect cells from damage. These antioxidants are linked to lower risk of conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease, cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of lung diseases that make breathing difficult.

The lemon peel may contain even more antioxidants than the juice or flesh, making it another beneficial part of the fruit when used safely in cooking.

What Nutrients Do Lemons Offer?

One peeled lemon provides approximately:

• Calories: 17
• Fat: 0.2 g
• Sodium: 1 mg
• Carbohydrates: 5 g
• Fiber: 1.6 g (about 6% of the daily value)
• Added sugars: 0 g
• Protein: 0.6 g
• Vitamin C: 31 mg (about 34% of the daily value)

Lemons are low in calories and supply important micronutrients like potassium, vitamin B6, and thiamin, which your body needs in small amounts for everyday functions.

Are There Any Risks to Watch Out For?

Lemons are generally safe when consumed in normal food and beverage amounts. However, the safety of taking lemon in medical or concentrated supplement forms is not well established.

Possible risks include citrus allergies, which can range from mild mouth irritation to severe reactions. The acid in lemons may also erode tooth enamel, so rinsing your mouth with plain water after consuming lemon can help protect your teeth. For some people, lemon’s acidity can worsen acid reflux or GERD. Skin contact with lemon oil followed by sun exposure may cause phototoxic reactions in some individuals.

Tips for Adding Lemons to Your Diet

Adding lemons to your meals can boost vitamin C and antioxidant intake and support overall health. Easy ways to include more lemon in your routine include adding lemon juice or a wedge to water or tea, using lemon dressing on legume-based salads to improve iron absorption, marinating meat, fish, or tofu with lemon juice, and adding lemon zest to soups, grains, or baked goods.

To keep lemons fresh, store them in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. You can also freeze lemons to extend their shelf life and reduce food waste.