10 Questions About Lemonade Answered

Whenever I talk about lemonade, I get a ton of questions:

How strong should lemonade be? Will it be too sour without sugar? Does lemonade need to be made with cold water? Will hot lemonade taste bitter? Will the vitamin C in lemons decompose when it comes into contact with hot water? Can people with stomach problems drink lemonade? Is lemonade suitable for people who are losing weight? Can people with high blood pressure, diabetes, and gout drink lemonade? Is lemonade suitable for people with kidney stones? How to preserve a lemon if you can't finish it? ...

Here we summarize these 10 common questions and answer them in one package.

1 How strong does lemonade have to be to be called lemonade?

Lemonade is a very light drink with only a slight lemon flavor.

It is definitely not a lemonade drink and does not have a very obvious sour taste. This point must be understood. Otherwise, the answers to the following questions will be different.

There was a time when the "lemon cup" was popular. Put a lemon in it, then add water and honey, and soak it over and over again. A woman once complained to me: Since I bought the lemon cup, my family spends more than ten yuan a day on lemons... and has consumed several kilograms of honey... I have also gained weight...

This is not called lemonade, this is called a homemade sweet drink of lemon + honey.

Drinking lemon water is for hydration, not for making a homemade sweet drink . Compared with boiled water, lemon water has a little more lemon flavor, which makes it more refreshing and delicious.

The water used to soak lemons must be light. One lemon with skin should be soaked in one liter of water, which can be poured into 3-4 small cups. One large lemon can be soaked in 5-7 liters of water, which is enough for one person to drink for two or three days.

This kind of lemonade does not have a strong sour taste and can be drunk without adding sugar or honey. The energy it contains is almost negligible and it can be regarded as a zero-calorie drink.

By the way, the cost of making lemonade like this is not that high. If you replace 1 lemon with 1-2 small limes, the cost will be even lower.

2 How to make lemon water? Drink it hot or cold?

When making lemon water, be sure to cut the lemon slices with the peel, because the peel contains more flavonoids. Lemon essential oil is also mainly in the peel, which is the source of the faint aroma of lemon water.

The slices must be thin, as thin slices will allow the aroma of the lemon peel to be easily extracted.

Of course, lemon peel, including other citrus peels, contains some bitter flavonoids , such as hesperidin, naringin, etc., but they are also beneficial ingredients. There is a faint bitter taste, and with a light sour taste, it will quench your thirst when you drink it in hot weather. This is also the charm of lemonade.

Lemon seeds contain very bitter limonin. Once the seeds are cut, they release a strong bitter taste into the water, so it is best to remove the seeds when soaking .

Soak it in hot water first, then let it cool, and then refrigerate it to achieve the best aroma and taste.

This is because hot water can better extract the essential oils in the lemon peel. However, when it is hot, the sour and bitter flavors will be slightly stronger . Drinking it after cooling it will taste more elegant and pleasant.

However, because it is brewed very lightly and is comfortable to drink when hot, most people can accept it and there is no worry about "it becoming sour".

3 Will hot water destroy the vitamin C in lemons?

Some people say that lemons cannot be soaked in hot water for fear of loss of VC.

In fact, the purpose of drinking lemon water is not to drink a lot of vitamin C. The VC content of lemon is lower than many people think, only 30~50 mg/100 g, which is about the same as the level of ordinary green leafy vegetables. Since we can throw green leafy vegetables into the pot to stir-fry or boil, why can't lemons be soaked in hot water?

In fact, there is no need to worry about the vitamin C in lemons.

Since lemons are highly acidic and VC is more heat-resistant under acidic conditions , it is not as easy to lose as imagined. It is completely fine if the water temperature for soaking lemon slices is higher than 60 degrees.

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It is too expensive to use lemon to supplement vitamin C. Daily vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, cabbage, kale, green pepper, cauliflower, etc. are the main sources of vitamin C. Although heating and cooking will lose vitamin C, if you eat it immediately after cooking, the loss is only about half.

According to the dietary guidelines, eating 500 grams of vegetables every day can provide the human body with 50 to 150 mg of vitamin C every day, even taking into account the loss during cooking, which is more than the content in a lemon.

4 How to store lemons that cannot be used in a day?

Someone asked, if you only use one slice of lemon each time, what should you do with the rest?

In fact, there is no need to worry too much. Lemons store well, which is why Dr. Lind recommended that sailors carry lemons on board.

The main problem with storing lemons for a long time is that the surface becomes dry, but they are still usable after drying, and the inside is still juicy, so they can be stored for a month without any problem .

If you don’t use up any lemons after slicing, you can wrap them in plastic wrap and keep them in a fresh-keeping box in the refrigerator for two or three days.

This is because lemons are very acidic, and most microorganisms tend to retreat when faced with difficulties. Only mold still wants to attack it, but under conditions below pH 3, mold grows relatively slowly, and two or three days are not enough for them to grow colonies on the surface of lemons.

Dried lemons can also be used to make tea , but because the aroma of the skin has been lost and the vitamin C has also been lost, the aroma of the lemonade will be greatly reduced. However, it can still be used to make lemon tea, which can provide some citric acid and potassium.

5. Can patients with stomach problems drink lemon water?

Some people say that patients with stomach problems cannot drink lemon water because it is too acidic and will irritate the stomach. People with excessive stomach acid and gastroesophageal reflux should not drink it.

But in fact, if you use a slice of lemon to make a large bottle of water, the resulting lemon water will taste very light and is not as sour as sweet drinks such as cola. It will not cause stomach ulcers - it is not like drinking pure lemon juice (pure lemon juice has a pH of about 2.5, which is equivalent to cola).

People with excessive stomach acid can drink lemon water as lightly as possible, because a small amount of citric acid is conducive to the repair of gastric mucosa. Westerners like to squeeze lemon juice on various foods, believing that it can help digestion.

For people with indigestion, adding a thin slice of ginger to light lemon water and drinking it with meals is also beneficial in promoting the secretion of digestive juices.

6. Is lemon water suitable for people who are losing weight?

For those who are losing weight, light lemon water is a good drink as it contains very little sugar.

Lemon is a very unique fruit because other fruits have a distinct sweet taste, but the sugar content of lemon is only about 0.5%, which is less than one-tenth of that of strawberry. According to my country's nutrition labeling regulations, a fruit with a sugar content of less than 0.5% can be legally labeled as sugar-free.

With just a tiny bit of sugar, diluted with so much water, the sugar content is negligible, so it will not make you gain weight.

However, it's a different story when sugar or honey is added.

Sour food, with a little sugar, is always particularly fascinating, and the same is true for lemonade. Cold lemonade with a little honey will feel particularly refreshing and thirst-quenching.

However, lightly sweetened lemon water contains about 5% sugar, and whether it is added with honey or white sugar, it will still bring calories.

The most important thing is that the lemon water must be light! Light! Light! If you put too much lemon, it will definitely be very sour; if it is so sour that you can't drink it, you must add sugar to neutralize the sourness, which will inevitably bring sugar and calories, and then you can't ignore the risk of weight gain...

If it is really light lemonade, you can drink it happily without adding sugar; if you add 5% sugar, it will taste very good.

Based on 5% sugar, a paper cup (200 grams) of sweetened honey water contains 40 kcal of energy. If you drink two cups, it is equivalent to eating 1/4 bowl of rice. Therefore, people who need to control their weight still need to limit their intake, and they cannot drink honey lemon water every day just because it tastes good.

7 Is lemon water suitable for gout patients?

The main ingredients in lemon water are citric acid, potassium, vitamin C and some polyphenol antioxidants, as well as trace amounts of lemon essential oil.

54. The potassium content is particularly beneficial for patients with gout and hyperuricemia, because potassium helps make urine alkaline , and uric acid is easier to be excreted by the body, which can reduce the risk of gout attacks.
55. Vitamin C and polyphenol antioxidants are both beneficial in reducing inflammatory responses , which is also an advantage for gout patients.
56. Gout patients need to drink a lot of water to dilute urine and eliminate uric acid. Light lemon water is a good choice for hydration. For many people, it is easier to drink than drinking plain water. Therefore, unsweetened light lemon water is very suitable for patients with gout and hyperuricemia. It just needs to be light enough and no sugar should be added. Adding sugar will make it a sweet drink. Sweet drinks promote the synthesis of endogenous uric acid. Even homemade sweet drinks are not good.

8 Is light lemon water suitable for patients with kidney stones?

Some people say that lemon water cannot be consumed with calcium-rich foods, because calcium and citric acid will combine to form precipitates and even form stones in the body. Therefore, patients with kidney stones cannot drink it. This is a rumor.

Calcium citrate is slightly soluble in water (the solubility of calcium citrate tetrahydrate is 20 mg/100 g water), which seems not high, but calcium citrate is a good material for making calcium tablets because it can be absorbed by the human body without the help of stomach acid.

In fact, citric acid does not promote kidney stones like oxalic acid. On the contrary, organic acids such as citric acid are beneficial to the absorption of various minerals in food, such as calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, etc. Studies have shown that the intake of citric acid is beneficial to the prevention of kidney stones, and potassium citrate has even been used in the treatment of kidney stones.

At the same time, in order to prevent urine concentration and recurrence of stones, kidney stone patients should also drink more water. Therefore, stone patients are suitable for drinking light lemon water.

9 Is lemon water suitable for patients with hypertension and diabetes?

Unsweetened light lemon water contains no sodium and almost no energy, but contains potassium, a small amount of VC and a small amount of flavonoids. It is very suitable for daily drinking by chronic patients such as hypertension, coronary heart disease and diabetes.

Potassium can counteract the blood pressure-raising effect of sodium, flavonoids are beneficial to insulin sensitivity, and VC is also helpful for blood lipid metabolism. However, the content of these ingredients is not very high, so it cannot be considered that lemon water has any therapeutic effect.

The most important thing is that it does not provide sugar or sodium, and the calories are negligible, making it a very good choice to replace sweet drinks.

Compared with tea, the antioxidant properties of light lemon water are lower, but because it does not contain caffeine and not so many tannins, it does not affect digestion and absorption, tastes fresh, and appears more fashionable, making it more easily accepted by young people.

10 Can I use other fruits to make tea soaked in water?

Various fruits can be added to fruit tea, but they are not as good as lemon - because they all contain more sugar.

Once it is soaked in water, the sugar is diluted and it will taste unpalatable. Only lemonade is not sweet, so it can be drunk directly if it is diluted.

However, there is an alternative: use limes and sour oranges produced in southern China and Southeast Asia instead of lemons to soak in water. Cut a small lime in half or cut it into quarters and soak it in water. One small lime is enough to soak a large glass of water.

Compared to lemons, limes are more refreshing and less bitter. They are also particularly suitable for use in tea. For example, brew a cup of green tea or black tea first, then add half a lime to create a refreshing lemon tea.

In short, those who find plain water tasteless, don't like tea or are sensitive to caffeine may try light lemon water as a substitute for sweet drinks. But don't turn lemon water into a combination of "lemon + sugar"!

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