The healing power of lemon peel

Lemon peels are healthy. You don't have to throw them away. You can dry them and use them later as a cheap supplement. 100 grams of lemon peel powder costs more than eight euros in 2015. Lemon peels don't just have nutritional value; they even have healing powers. Scientific research shows that lemon peel can be a good medicine for prostate cancer. It can also be a solution for obesity. In addition, the symptoms of type 2 diabetes mellitus are alleviated with lemon peel oil.

Dry lemon peel yourself

You can dry lemon peels. Only use organic lemon peels to make sure there are no pesticides on them. Before drying you have to wash the skins thoroughly. First, let them soak in salt water for half an hour. Then rinse them under running tap. Then you can dry them.

You can peel the fruit, but it is more convenient to squeeze the lemon juice. You can mix this lemon juice with water and sugar. In South American countries, this is called a lemonade and can be purchased in any restaurant. Instead of sugar, you can drink it without sugar, with stevia or with honey. When cut into small pieces, they dry faster. After drying you can powder them in a coffee grinder, food processor or blender. Then you can take this powder as an extract. You can also use them as a seasoning in, for example, ice cream, a smoothie, or as an instant powder for a refreshing drink.

Argentinian research from 2002 shows that lemon peels are toxic to fruit flies but that lemon juice is not toxic to these bugs. Peels contain substances that keep insects at bay. These same substances in shells are not toxic to humans but can contribute to the prevention and cure of diseases. In other words, humans can harness the substances in lemon peels that are used to protect the lemon from outside dangers to obtain health benefits.

Research from 2000 shows that intake of lemon peel appears to be good against cancer. The study was conducted on humans but too small a number of people to draw definitive conclusions. Taiwanese researchers conducted specific research into the effect of lemon peel on prostate cancer in 2013. The scientists conclude that lemon peel is a new and very effective treatment method for prostate cancer. The research was done by injecting human prostate cancer cells into mice. With this type of research, the rule always applies that it is ethically irresponsible to conduct a scientific study on humans, with the reasoning that the scientists deprive patients of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. That despite there are enough volunteers who do not believe in chemotherapy and radiation therapy, partly because these two therapies have the side effect that they can cause cancer.

Lemon peels contain a lot of pectin. In 2002, Dutch researchers from Utrecht University completed a study into the anti-cancer effect of pectin. The effect was compared with consumption of lemon peels and the waste water of lemon peels from which pectin had been extracted. As these substances have a cholesterol lowering effect; the liver stores less cholesterol when one of these products was given to mice. The researchers conclude that pectin, lemon peel and the waste water from lemon peel have a cholesterol-lowering effect and that this is due to pectin and other substances in lemon peel. Incidentally, there is a great controversy between scientists regarding the nature of cholesterol. One group of scientists think that cholesterol is a substance that must be lowered in the blood and the other group of scientists say that the body does not produce cholesterol for nothing and that this substance is important transports nutrients in the body to places where it is needed.

You may already know that lemon is a scientifically proven remedy for weight loss or obesity cure. Research from 2008 shows that substances from the peel of lemons also have a positive effect on the cure of obesity. A study was conducted on mice in Japan. The mice were divided into three groups: one group was fed a low-fat diet, another group was fed a high-fat diet, and a third group was fed a high-fat diet to which 0.5% lemon peel extract was added. By fats is meant here: the fats from supermarket oils that contain a lot of trans fat. It turned out that the mice gained much less weight if their diet was provided with lemon peel extract. In addition, it was observed that insulin resistance decreased when lemon peel extract was taken. It also turned out that the fat is better digested in combination with lemon peel. According to the Japanese researchers, it can be concluded that lemon peel extract improves fat metabolism, reduces insulin resistance and reduces the risk of obesity. The researchers think that in our current diet in which we eat a lot of oils (and trans fats) lemon peel supplementation can offer a solution.

Research from Saudi Arabia shows that supplementation with lemon peel extract accelerates the healing of a wound in diabetic patients. Diabetics suffer from wounds that heal less quickly. Because the blood sugar level drops after ingestion of lemon peel extract, a wound can be repaired faster, the researchers saw. The lemon peel extract was taken orally. The scientific research was conducted on rats that had been given diabetes and a wound. The rats were given 400mg / kg lemon peel for 12 days.

Lipolysis is the process in the digestive system that causes the breakdown of fats. South Korean study from 2006 shows that the essential lemon peel oil promotes lipolysis. This mechanism is partly responsible for the fact that lemon peels are good against obesity. Lipolysis is triggered by the activation of hormones. The study showed that substances in lemon peel work better than the ketones of raspberries, of which all kinds of supplements exist to promote the cure of obesity.