What Are The Benefits Of Lime Juice?

Lime juice is a sour, tart liquid that is obtained from the fruit of the Citrus aurantifolia, a shrubby citrus tree that is native to Asia. Lime fruit is a small, green fruit akin to the lemon, with a pale green, juicy pulp. Widely used for both culinary and non-culinary purposes, it is among the most popular citrus juices available on the market today. There are a number of benefits that citrus fruit offers.

Dietary Vitamin C

Drinking lime juice helps to meet the body's daily requirement for vitamin C. The USDA reports that a cup of freshly squeezed lime juice contains 72.6mg of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid). According to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), vitamin C is an essential nutrient that is needed for the growth and repair of tissues, as well as the repair and maintenance of our bones and teeth. It also helps the body to produce collagen, a protein that plays a vital role in the production of blood vessels, skin, tendons, ligaments and cartilage.

Antibiotic Properties

According to the George Mateljan Foundation, limes contain unique active compounds called flavonol glycosides, which not only offer anticancer and antioxidant benefits, but also have antibiotic properties. The antibiotic properties of these compounds have been shown to protect against the contraction of cholera, a disease caused a bacteria called Vibrio cholera. The Foundation cites the findings of research conducted in West Africa, which showed that drinking lime juice with their main meal protected participants against this disease.

Anti-carcinogenic

Lime juice has potent anti-carcinogenic properties. J. Robert Hatherill Ph.D., a research scientist, writes that limes and other citrus fruit contain a variety of cancer-fighting compounds called flavonoids. Flavonoids are a family of naturally-occurring compounds found in many fruit and vegetables. In his book "Eat To Beat Cancer," he reports that the biological activity of citrus juice flavonoids have anti-cancer effects that prevent the invasion of cancer cells. These compounds also powerfully inhibit the growth of tumor cells. He notes that the juice has most cancer-fighting clout when it is drunk fresh.

Detoxification

Hatherill writes that these fruit also contain eight different kinds liminoids, which are compounds that promote the activity of an enzyme in the liver called glutathione-S-transferase (GST). This liver enzyme detoxifies a variety of cancer-causing chemicals. In effect, it deactivates these harmful chemicals, turning them into harmless chemicals that are then removed from the body in your urine.