Does Taking Lime Juice Reduce Anxiety?

Does Taking Lime Juice Reduce Anxiety?
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It's tangy, a sound source of vitamin C and a soothing shade of green, but lime juice is not a scientifically founded method of reducing anxiety. However, drinking moderate amounts of lime juice as part of a healthy, balanced diet is a perfectly fine thing to do. So, if it makes you feel better, there is no reason not to keep it up. Anxiety can be a serious mental illness; if you are suffering, consult your doctor to develop a treatment plan.

Lime Juice Facts

One lime contains 35 percent of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. Vitamin C is important for your body to grow new tissue, including blood vessels, tendons and skin, and repair the old. It helps maintain strong bones, teeth and cartilage. Vitamin C is water-soluble; that is, it leaves the body through your urine. This means you need a steady supply of vitamin C to stay in good health. Drinking lime juice is one way you can meet your daily vitamin C needs.

About Anxiety

While some anxiety provides useful motivation to complete necessary tasks, clinically unhealthy levels of anxiety can be mentally crippling, and can cause serious emotional problems and physical illness. Anxiety is a sense of fear that permeates everything you do, which may or may not be prompted by any specific event. People in a heightened state of anxiety experience a torrent of negative thoughts and have the sense that these thoughts are out of control.

Treating Anxiety

Treating anxiety means changing your lifestyle. Anxiety treatment plans include a nutritious diet, an exercise regimen and a method to manage negative patterns of thought. Some people find that meditation or yoga helps them to break out of detrimental cycles of worry. Setting aside a dedicated time to list worries and develop action plans to address them can also be helpful. A licensed mental health professional can help you develop an anxiety treatment plan that works for you.

Lime Juice and Anxiety

If you are craving lime juice, or have a hunch it could make you feel better, there is no reason not to indulge. A squeeze of fresh lime juice in seltzer water or ginger beer can be a refreshing alternative to alcohol, which depresses your system and might make anxiety worse. Lime juice adds tangy zip and vitamin C to a cup of hot tea; this can be a soothing alternative to excessive caffeinated beverages, which can also magnify symptoms of anxiety.

References

Article reviewed by Brigitte Espinet Last updated on: Sep 9, 2011

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