You bite into a piece of lemon and immediately your face tightens. But did you know that citrus fruits are not acidic at all? In our body, the lemon is metabolized alkaline. Here's what you need to know about it!
If you keep your acid-alkaline balance in equilibrium, you will stay healthy. To achieve this, you should regularly eat an alkaline diet.
Basically, we distinguish between acidic and alkaline foods. Our diet should consist mostly of alkaline foods.
Vegetables, fruits and plant foods are mostly alkaline. Animal food makes the body acidic in the long run.
We automatically reach for alkaline fruits such as strawberries, apples, pears, grapes or plums on a regular basis. But very few of us take a hearty bite out of a lemon.
Just thinking about it makes our hair stand up. Lemons are sour and not particularly tasty.
It may surprise you at first that lemon is alkaline. But our body ticks a little differently than the sense of taste.
But how can lemon be alkaline when it tastes so sour, you may ask. We'll tell you!
What is alkaline nutrition and how does it work?
Why the lemon is alkaline
Limes, oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, lemons and all other citrus fruits are considered alkaline fruits.
This is because all fruits are considered alkalizing. Lemons are particularly strongly alkaline. In the alkaline table, they are even classified as "very strongly alkaline".
On the one hand, this is because they contain many minerals.
100 grams of lemon juice provide 170 mg of potassium. It has a diuretic effect, which makes our body produce more urine and flush the kidneys.
100 grams of lemon juice contain 10 mg of magnesium, 10 mg of calcium and 10 mg of phosphate, which have an additional alkalizing effect in our body.
Sweet-tasting fruits such as apples, watermelons or peaches are also considered alkaline. Alkaline lemons and fruits help us balance the acid-base balance.
You can increase the alkaline effect by taking alkaline powder or capsules. Like lemons, these products contain a lot of minerals. First and foremost, zinc, which contributes to a normal acid-base balance.
This alkaline fruit deacidifies your body!
Acid is not the same as acid - this makes the lemon alkaline
When biting into a lemon, our tongue immediately reports: Wow, that's sour!
The reason for this is that 100 grams of lemon juice provide about 50 mg of vitamin C. By the way, the juice of one lemon already covers half the daily requirement of vitamin C. In addition provide Citric acid* and malic acid ensure that the citrus fruit immediately makes us grimace.
Our taste buds cannot distinguish between acid and alkaline.
Because just because it tastes sour doesn't mean it is sour. Sounds complicated, doesn't it?
Among other things, foods taste sour if they contain a lot of fruit acid. In the case of lemon, this is ascorbic acid (Citric acid*).
But this has nothing to do with the acid-base balance. An alkaline lemon is therefore not metabolized acidically in our body. However, it does taste sour.
Every lemon contains alkaline substances such as the minerals calcium, potassium and magnesium. Our body metabolizes these minerals alkaline.
This vegetable soup is alkaline and mega delicious!
How does it work?
In the body, fruit acids are broken down particularly quickly. After eating, our body consumes acid to break down the lemon. Calcium, potassium and magnesium enter the body, then the blood and give us energy.
Thus, alkaline substances such as potassium and magnesium predominate.
The acidic fruit has an alkaline effect on the body because no acids are formed during metabolism. The opposite is the case: existing acids in the body are broken down.
So, after digesting and breaking down the lemon, more alkaline than acidic products remain in our body.
This means nothing other than that the lemon is alkaline, although it tastes sour. One does not exclude the other. :)
The Pral value
You can tell whether a food is acidic or alkaline by looking at the Pral table. This value indicates the acid load of minerals and proteins on the kidneys.
But beware: The Pral value says nothing about the pH value of a food.
Sounds mega complicated, right?
If a food has a negative Pral value, this has a positive effect on the acid-base balance.
| Food | Pral value |
|---|---|
| Spinach | – 14,0 |
| Potatoes | – 4,0 |
| Tomatoes | – 3,1 |
| Lemon | – 2,5 |
Example of acidic foods: meat, fish, bread, pasta, dairy products.
Acidic foods you should avoid now!
Why you should add alkaline lemons to your diet
We all eat far too many animal foods. This is not good for our bodies in the long run. That's why it's worthwhile to go on an alkaline diet every now and then. During this time, you eat mostly alkaline foods.
A lemon comes just at the right time. It helps to establish the acid-base balance and thus counteract hyperacidity.
Possible consequences of hyperacidity
- Fatigue
- Nervousness and restlessness
- Muscle pain
- Little resilience
- Flabby connective tissue
- Degradation of bone density
You can counteract all this by regularly adding alkaline foods to your diet. Try to eat more consciously and you will soon notice the difference.
Chronic hyperacidity is also said to promote many typical civilization diseases such as osteoarthritis, allergies, osteoporosis, sleep disorders and much more.
Pack these alkaline vegetables into your diet!
How to best consume lemon
But you don't have to be afraid of eating lemons now.
Rather, you can simply add it to tap water throughout the day and drink it. It tastes very refreshing and is really good for you.
If this is too acidic for you, add a little mint to the water.
If you drink a lot, your metabolism will be boosted, you will feel fitter and not so flabby anymore. Your connective tissue will also be happy about the daily portion of lemon.
But since, fortunately, not only lemon is alkaline, you can, of course, eat lots of fruits and vegetables or put them in the water.
Especially delicious taste
- Strawberries
- Melon
- Mint and herbs of all kinds
- Cucumber
- Orange
But lemons are not only interesting for the acid-base balance. They also contain a lot of vitamin C. With it you strengthen your immune system, improve wound healing and can even strengthen the connective tissue.
Citrus also cleanses the kidneys and boosts the digestive system.
Because lemons are alkaline, they also have a deacidifying and detoxifying effect, which is why they are used in many diets.
Can you lose weight with alkaline powder?
Our conclusion
The fact that the lemon is alkaline, although it tastes sour, should now be clear to you. Make sure you eat a healthy and varied diet if you want to do something good for your body.
By the way, this also includes drinking a lot. If you combine that with lemon water right away, you combine the benefits quite cleverly :)
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