12 health benefits of lime juice

Lime juice offers several advantages, including improving digestion, boosting immunity, promoting youthful and healthy skin, cleansing the body, and eliminating body odors.

1. Improving digestion

Lime juice aids in reducing symptoms like indigestion, heartburn, and bloating, facilitates morning bowel movements, cleanses the colon, stimulates bile production, and helps prevent constipation.

2. Boosting immunity and combating colds and flu

Rich in vitamin C, lime juice strengthens the immune system, combats colds and flu, and enhances iron absorption from food.

3. Promoting healthy skin

Limes, abundant in antioxidants, neutralize free radicals that cause premature skin aging. Vitamin C maintains skin elasticity, prevents wrinkle formation, and diminishes skin blemishes.

4. Cleansing the body and eliminating toxins

Limes facilitate the elimination of toxins, protecting cells, tissues, and organs. They stimulate liver enzyme production and enhance liver efficiency. Acting as a diuretic, lime juice aids the urinary tract in expelling toxins and can modify pH levels, benefiting those prone to urinary tract infections.

5. Eliminating body odors

The Times of India states that lime can reduce sweating, prevent body odor, and lighten underarm skin. Rub half of a lime–preferably not too ripe–directly on your armpits. You might experience slight irritation. However, if you have rashes, it’s best to avoid using lime.

Additionally, lime is effective for cleaning, whitening objects, and repelling insects due to its acidic properties, which remove unpleasant odors from refrigerators, cutting boards, and sinks. When combined with baking soda, lime juice acts as a potent cleaner and disinfectant, effectively brightening items made of copper, brass, and stainless steel. Moreover, lime juice, when brewed and sprayed, repels ants and insects thanks to its aromatic and acidic nature.

6. Provide antioxidants

Lime juice is rich in antioxidants such as flavonoids, limonoids, kaempferol, and quercetin, which help protect cells from free radicals that are associated with heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.

7. Support immune system

Thanks to its high vitamin C content, lime juice boosts the immune system by promoting white blood cell production, helping the body fight infections.

Vitamin C has also been shown to reduce cold duration and aid in faster wound healing by supporting collagen production.

8. Enhance skin health

Lime juice benefits the skin, as its vitamin C content supports collagen formation, helping to maintain skin firmness. Its antioxidants also combat oxidative stress, which can contribute to visible aging.

9. Boost heart health

Lime juice may support heart health by potentially lowering blood pressure, which is a key risk factor for heart disease.

Research suggests vitamin C may also help prevent atherosclerosis, where plaque accumulates in arteries, leading to heart complications.

10. Prevent kidney stones

The citric acid in lime juice may help prevent kidney stones by raising citrate levels, thus reducing the risk of stone formation.

In general, studies indicate that regular consumption of citrus fruits can lower the likelihood of developing kidney stones.

11. Enhance iron absorption

Lime juice’s vitamin C can improve iron absorption, helping to prevent iron deficiency anemia, a disorder to which those on a plant-based diet are especially vulnerable. Research shows that combining citrus fruits with plant-based meals can enhance iron absorption by up to 70%.

12. Cancer prevention

Lime juice contains compounds that may be linked to reduced cancer risk. Flavonoids in limes may inhibit cancer-promoting gene expression, and laboratory studies indicate that citrus fruits may suppress the growth or spread of various cancer cells.

Rich in vitamin C, iron, calcium, vitamin B6, potassium, and fiber, lime juice offers strong support to the immune system and promotes skin health.

According to Healthline, a medium-sized lime provides 20 calories, 7 grams of carbs, 0.5 grams of protein, 1.9 grams of fiber, 22% of the Daily Value (DV) of vitamin C, 2% DV of iron, calcium, and vitamin B6, 2% DV of thiamin, and 1% of the Recommended Dietary Intake for potassium.