Imagine a potent fruit that awakens your neurons and revives the circuitry of your nerves, all without raising blood sugar. Limes are formidable agents for building your neurological fortress.
Limes vs Lemons Benefits for the Nervous System
While lemons and limes have similar nutrients, there are a few differences. Lemons contain more vitamin C and flavonoids; however, limes hold higher minerals and vitamins.
For example, limes contain higher levels of
- Niacin
- Calcium
- Iron
- Zinc
- Magnesium
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
Furthermore, lemons lack the vitamin A that limes provide. Vitamin A plays an essential role in mucosal membranes, like inside the mouth, nose, GI tract, lungs, bladder, urinary tract, vaginal lining, and cornea. It also assists skin and eye health.
While lemons contain more flavinoids, limes beat them in other antioxidant categories. These antioxidants include
- Limonoids
- Kaempferol
- Ascorbic acid
- Phenolic acids
- Quercetin
With the number of antioxidants, limes pack a powerful antioxidant punch.
Furthermore, the metabolites in limes hold antibacterial, anticancer, antidiabetic, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. In a 2016 study, daily consumption of key limes reduced the risk of various chronic diseases like
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Urinary diseases
- Certain cancers
The study further revealed that specific antioxidants in limes, such as alkaloids, carotenoids, and flavonoids, exhibited mechanisms to stop cancer cell mobility and migration through the circulatory system. These antioxidants potentially inhibit metastasis or cancer spread.
What Types of Limes Should I Eat?
Most grocery stores carry a few lime options. The most common limes in most supermarkets are Persian limes. These larger, oblong-shaped green limes with thicker skin provide a tart flavor.
The other lime is called key lime. These smaller, rounder, more aromatic limes provide a sweeter flavor, making them a preferred choice in key lime pies. However, these limes prove more challenging to find because they are no longer grown in the U.S.
Both limes, however, carry the same health benefits.
How do Limes Benefit the Nervous System?
Limes provide various health benefits for the nervous system. Lime’s rich sources of antioxidants defend cells against molecules called free radicals. In high amounts, free radicals damage any cell in the body, but nerve cells are particularly susceptible.
The brain sits at a high risk of damage by oxidative stress because it uses large amounts of oxygen, which results in free radical formation. Antioxidants protect against free radical formation.
If you are on a carnivore diet, we recommend taking antioxidant supplements. While these diets provide various health benefits, long-term dieting produces antioxidant deficiencies.
How do Limes Benefit the Brain?
Limes benefit the nervous system in many ways, but let’s start with the central nervous system. Antioxidants in limes cross the blood-brain barrier, directly protecting neurons against oxidative damage, inflammation, and the accumulation of amyloid plaques, commonly seen in Alzheimer’s disease.
Next, limes contain powerful flavonoids like hesperidin, eriocitrin, and naringin. These flavonoids protect brain neurons from damage and neurodegenerative diseases.
In 2020, researchers from a study in Thailand found that lime extracts protected brain cells from the damaging effects of high glucose consumption.
Another study from 2021 confirmed the neuroprotective effect of flavonones in limes. Researchers also found polyphenols improved brain health and cognition, reducing systemic inflammation and free radicals.
Despite the small amount of limes, studies show folate plays an essential role in synthesizing neurotransmitters in the brain, which is crucial for mood regulation and cognition.
How Do Limes Benefit Peripheral Nerves?
Limes benefit peripheral nerves in various ways. Vitamin C found in limes plays a critical role in nerve collagen synthesis.
While most people associate vitamin C with collagen being critical for skin, peripheral nerves also depend on collagen. Collagen is essential for repairing and maintaining the myelin sheath, the protective coating surrounding nerve fibers. Healthy myelin sheaths ensure lightning-speed nerve impulse transmissions in the peripheral nerves.
Furthermore, the flavonoids hesperidin, naringenin, and limonoids protect peripheral nerves and mitochondria from inflammation and free radical damage. Like the central nervous system, they reduce oxidative injury to DNA in nerves and other cells.
Further studies show these flavanones, such as kaempferol, reduce neuroinflammation in central and peripheral nerves. Studies also show both hesperidin and kaempferol have strong neuroprotective effects and support nerve regeneration.
The minerals in limes, like potassium and magnesium, provide crucial nutrients for nerve signal transmission, repair, and regeneration. Furthermore, several studies show limes support your immune system and help prevent infection.
Additional Benefits for Liver, Kidney & Cholesterol
Limes also improve glycemic control, supporting healthy blood sugar. They also lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease.
In 2019, researchers altered rat diets to increase cholesterol and fed them essential oil extract from lime peels. The results showed that lime oil lowered total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol in eight weeks. It also reduces obesity, plaque formation, and fatty livers.
Limes aid digestion by increasing bile flow, ultimately reducing liver and gall bladder congestion. If people drank lime or lemon juice, we’d see a reduction in gallstones or kidney stones. These juices dissolve the stones.
How to Add Limes to My Diet?
We recommend consuming approximately one lime daily to receive the various health benefits. There are a few ways to add limes to your diet.
Lime Juice and Limeade
While drinking bottled lime juice is convenient, we do not recommend it. Despite the convenience, many bottled lime juices, whether the label states concentrate or freshly squeezed, contain additives like sulfites or sodium benzoate. Many people are sensitive to sulfite, and sodium benzoate is a known carcinogen.
Furthermore, commercially bottled lime juice only contains a small fraction of vitamins and minerals compared to freshly squeezed juice. When sitting on grocery store shelves, lime juice oxidizes, breaking down the vitamins and minerals.
Drinking freshly squeezed lime juice, undiluted or in water, is the best way to gain all the health benefits. Limeade also boosts your health.
Cilantro Lime Dressing
We highly recommend sprucing up salads with cilantro dressing. Besides the obvious benefits of the lime, cilantro helps remove heavy metals and protect against viruses and bacteria.
Cilantro lime dressing boosts your immune, cardiovascular, and nervous systems.
Cilantro Lime Coleslaw
If you’re tired of ordinary salads, try cilantro lime coleslaw. Similar to cilantro lime dressings, it has various benefits, including improving your gut health.
Ceviche
Ceviche, a Mexican delight, contains diced cubes of seafood marinated in lime juice. The citrus juice cures or cooks the fish protein.
The fish may be eaten like sushi or cooked as usual. We highly recommend adding chopped bell peppers, red onions, and avocados.
Spicy Lime Avocado Soup and Coconut Lime Rice
Spicy lime avocado soup is another great option for adding lime juice—or coconut lime rice.
Healthy Key Lime “Pie” Bars
These healthy key lime pie bars allow all the nutrients while enjoying a fun dessert.
Your food choices provide the foundation for your nerve health, but you need more than just the foundation. Incorporate limes into a balanced and varied diet that includes a wide range of low-glycemic fruits, tons of non-starchy vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, and very few grains.
Struggling with Neuropathy?
Dr. Coppola and Dr. Monteiro’s dedication to combating neuropathy is deeply personal, stemming from Dr. Monteiro’s experience with her mother’s severe chemo-induced neuropathy. This personal journey fueled their commitment to develop a systematic, drug-free approach to reversing neuropathy.
They founded the San Antonio Neuropathy Center, where they’ve successfully treated over 18,000 patients over the past two decades. Their acclaimed book, “Defeat Neuropathy Now in Spite of Your Doctor,” along with their neuropathy product line, stands as a testament to their expertise and innovative solutions.
Recognized as leading neuropathy specialists in America, Dr. Coppola and Dr. Monteiro offer a beacon of hope for those diagnosed with this challenging condition. If you or a loved one is seeking relief from neuropathy, reach out to us at 844 400-0101 or email us through our contact page – Click here.
Your path to healing can start today.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.