Cool Fitness Benefits of Juicy Lime Juice

Lime juice is super refreshing especially during the summer. To me, its more tangy than a lemon, but still super nutritious and absolutely healthy. Here are the super cool benefits of lime juice for fitness:

Benefits of Lime Juice

Vitamin C is most concentrated in citrus fruits such as lime juice and the associated peel and pulp, and according to the information sheet produced by Colorado State University, is involved in:

• Protecting cells from free radicals (antioxidant)
• Improving iron absorption
• Regenerating vitamin E supplies
• Helping to build collagen, which holds bones, tissues and other bodily structures together
• Metabolizing cholesterol to bile acids
• Synthesizing norepinephrine and carnitine (responsible for energy production)
• Immune system function

Limes Prevent Cancer

The flavonoids in lime juice and peel include apigenin, hesperetin, kaempferol, nobiletin, quercetin, and rutin, naringin and tangeretin. Limes also contain many bioactive compounds studied for their contribution to preventing and treating cancer, such as limonene, β-pinene, γ-terpinene and citral.

In the case of colon cancer, several compounds in key limes were shown to inhibit the growth of specific colon cancer cells. In pancreatic cancer, several bioactive compounds in the juice and extract of key limes such as rutin, neohesperidin, hesperidin and hesperetin were shown to stop the growth of different types of pancreatic cancer cells. The fruit juice extract and fruit peel extract of key lime were shown to inhibit the growth of specific breast cancer cells after exposure.

In the case of lymphoma, different compounds of the key lime affected lymphoma cancer cells in distinct ways. Flavonoids for skin cancer, hesperetin and limonoids for colon cancer, nobiletin for gastric cancer and naringenin for prostate cancer, gastric cancer and hepatocarcinoma.

The studies showed protective effects against stomach cancer due to flavones in citrus. The researchers theorize that the flavones inhibit cancer formation through various pathways in the metastasis, cell mobility, proapoptosis and angiogenesis.

Limes Work on a Molecular Level

The health benefits of lime extend far beyond its anti-cancer effects. Various studies and research reviews say that limes are:

• Anti-diabetic
• Anti-inflammatory
• High in fiber
• Antibacterial
• Anti-hypertensive
• Antifungal
• Anti-lipidemia

Limes supply mostly carbohydrates in the form of sucrose, glucose and fructose, but also contain a healthy dose of dietary fiber to help prevent gastrointestinal diseases and high cholesterol levels. Limes also provide B vitamins, carotenoids, the flavonoids, as mentioned earlier, and limonoids, which help prevent a variety of chronic diseases.

Fresh Lime Juice Recipe

Using a Handheld Juicer

Once the lime is cut in half, place the cut side down the juicer. This will ensure that most of the juice from the fruit will be released through the force of the hand.

This method’s advantage is that the seeds are kept in the press, while the juice is pulp-free.

Squeezing citrus by hand is undoubtedly the most convenient method since it requires no fancy kitchen equipment.

Cut the lime into wedges, hold the wedges between your thumb and fingers then squeeze it for super yummy juicy juicy for a fun picnic.

Lime juice is super healthy and yummy!