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Lemon

Citrus Limon

Medicinal Part: Fruit

Properties and Uses: Astringent, refrigerant. Lemon juice is a popular home remedy for numerous ailments, particularly colds, coughs, and sore throat. It is sometimes taken too for headaches and rheumatism. Externally, lemon juice can be used on sunburn, warts, and corns, and it is currently enjoying a revival of interest as a hair rinse and facial astringent. Lemon?s vitamin c and astringency also make lemon powder useful to stop bleeding in wounds.

Preparation and Dosage: Take lemon juice straight or diluted with water, as needed, preferably unsweetened. For coughs and colds, add honey (and some liquor, if you are inclined that way). For a cold, take a hot bath and go to bed. Before falling asleep, have a cup of hot lemon juice (1 lemon) and water in which you have dissolved a tablespoon of honey and two tablespoonful of liquor. You?ll wake the next morning with your cold gone ? or at least considerably better. For persistent coughing ? take a teaspoon of honey with fresh lemon juice squeezed over it. Hold in your mouth and swallow slowly. Unlike drug cough medicines, you can use this as frequently as you like. The juice of a lemon mixed with a pint of warm water can be used as a retention enema for acute hemorrhoids; retain for 5 minutes. Lemon juice in hot water is said to relieve stomach distress and dizziness. The juice of a lemon in a glass of warm water upon rising is a good habit to promote regularity.[1]

With the cold season fast approaching (if you haven?t caught yours yet) I thought it might be helpful to share my favorite cold remedy. I?ve often remarked to friends and family how I would vastly prefer to get brought down by the stomach flu for 24 to 48 hours, rather than a miserable cold that drags on for two weeks. While there is a host of products on the market today that claim to prevent colds such as Zycam or Airborne, once you finally succumb to this season?s influenza strain, the objective is to get over it as quickly as possible.

This is a home remedy that should be taken just before bed.

Ingredients: 4 ? 5 slices of fresh lemon

1 cup of red wine such as a cabernet, burgundy or merlot

Preparation: Bring 1 cup of red wine to a vigorous boil on the stove, and then add several slices of fresh lemon. Continue to boil for 1 to 2 minutes. Strain out the lemon and drink this down while very hot.

This cold remedy has been in our family for well over 100 years and I have never known it to fail. In fact, it seems that the worse the cold is, the better this remedy works. I was first introduced to this remedy when I was about 6 years old and was suffering from a miserable cold and cough. My father prepared this for me, and within minutes after drinking it down, I fell sound asleep and awoke the next morning completely recovered. As an adult, I still use this remedy because it is so effective. Though this remedy is prepared with wine, I believe it is perfectly safe for children since most, if not all of the alcohol is boiled off during the preparation process.

Lemon is yet another one of those common products we use day to day without truly appreciating its wonderful, beneficial properties. Beyond its effectiveness as a cold remedy, it serves as a wonderful astringent for the skin and makes an excellent additive to handmade soaps.

In addition Lemon is a wonderful, all natural cleaning product. It can be used to dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits. It can be mixed with vinegar and baking soda to make a very effective cleaning paste, or combined with olive oil to make a natural furniture polish for your home.

[1] The Herb Book, by John Lust, Benedict Lust Publications, 1974

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