Lime Or Lemon: Which Is Better?

When I wrote an earlier article on how to detoxify the body with a glass of fresh lemon water every morning, I got overwhelming questions in my inbox asking these two questions.
1. Can lime be substituted for lemon?
2. Does taking lemon water affect fertility in young women?
These questions will require a longer answer; hence I decided not to answer any of the questions in the comments section of my blog since it will require a whole article devoted to this very important subject.
I shall answer these questions, but first, I want us to look at the comparisons between these two important citrus fruits, Lemon and Lime.
We are looking at the comparisons based on their nutritional contents.
•An average sized Lemon has 29 calories, while Lime has 30 calories
•Lemons contain 53mg of Vitamin C per 100g, while lime has 29mg of Vit. C per 100g.
•Lemons contain 22IU of Vitamin A per 100g, while Lime has 50IU per 100g
•Lemons contain 26mg of Calcium per 100g, while Lime has 33mg per 100g
•Lemon has 11mcg of Folate per 100g while Lime has 8mcg of Folate per 100g
•Note: The presence of Folate is important during pregnancy for child bearing women and Lemon has more of it than Lime.
Other components that are both present in Lemon and lime, but in varying quantities are:
•Potassium (138mg in Lemon, 102mg in Lime),
•Magnesium (8mg in Lemon, 6mg in Lime),
•Phosphorous (16mg in Lemon, 18mg in Lime), etc.
So basically, both Lemon and Lime come from the same plant family, specie, and class. They are all Citrus fruits.
Now to answer the questions,
Question 1:
Can Lime be used instead of Lemon?
The difference between Lemon and Lime is just their nutritional values, there are more of these micro-nutrients in Lemon, than there is in Lime, however, you basically get all the nutrients, but in lesser quantity in Lime.
So yes, Lime can be used instead of Lemon where you don’t have access to any. However, it will be better to use 2 balls of Lime each time to add to your water as against using one of Lemon each morning.
Question 2.
Can taking Lemon or Lime juice affect fertility in women?
Now pay careful attention to this answer.
When it comes to women preparing to get pregnant, it matters which of these Citrus fruits they take its water in the morning.
Here are my findings on the effect of Lime on fertility.
Here in Nigeria, it is a common practice for some women to use Lime juice as a post-coital douche or as a contraceptive after sex with the belief that this Lime juice will prevent conception from taking place. Additionally, drinking lime juice is used by women to prevent conception.
I guess that is why I got a lot of questions on my blog on the effect of Lime juice on women fertility.
Not long ago, scientists from the University of Lagos, Nigeria performed an experiment which proves that Lime juice do indeed have an anti-fertility properties in rats. The experiment was not performed with humans, but rats.
So we are saying, if Lime water can prevent conception in rats, there is a chance that it can do the same to humans since the estrous cycle of rats is similar to that of humans. However, these findings is not yet conclusive since no human has been used so far for this experiment.
So it will be a course of wisdom for any woman who is preparing to get pregnant to avoid the use of lime juice entirely.
What about lemon juice on fertility?
For Lemon juice, it’s entirely a different story.
Instead of preventing conception, Lemon juice does the opposite, it enhances fertility, along with it’s incredible ability to treat and prevent some diseases.
Lemon has a special component in higher quantity which is necessary for fertility to take place in women, and that nutrient is called Folate. Additionally, lemon is loaded with more of Vitamin C, Potasium, Magnesium, Phosphorous, etc, all these are important micro-nutrients needed and which enhances fertility in women.
When Lemon water is taken in the morning along with its other health benefits, for a woman, it helps in increasing the flow of cervical fluids which is very important in conception. Without cervical fluid, the sperm won’t be able to reach the egg. Furthermore, if the cervical fluid is of good quality and quantity, it can help the sperm stay alive for several days while waiting ovulation.
The human bodies are bombarded everyday with harmful free radicals which comes from the foods we eat, water we drink, the air we breathe and from pollution in other forms, all of these can have an adverse effect on the sperm quality, egg, and reproductive organs. However, when Lemon water is taken in the morning, it helps in purifying the body, and destroying all the poisonous free radicals and toxins, hence increasing the likelihood of getting pregnant many times over.
Interestingly, Lemon water has no side effects whatsoever, since it’s purely natural and you can continue drinking it even if you are pregnant. You can also continue taking it even if you are on fertility drugs, you will still gain a lot of health benefits.
Take Home Points
I have been able to tackle the 2 questions asked at the beginning of this article and feel I should add a summary so that you will get a clearer answer.
From the above, we understand that drinking lemon water in the morning is good for everybody male or female.
But, if you DO NOT have access to Lemon, you can substitute it with Lime. However, for a young woman who is still a child bearing person, She CAN NOT SUBSTITUTE Lemon with Lime. It must be Lemon juice or nothing. Unless you have passed the child bearing age or if you are not ready to get pregnant anytime soon, then go for Lime juice as a substitute for Lemon.
The men can also go for Lime as a substitute for Lemon. However, as much as possible do your best to get Lemon. If you have any Shoprite outlet around you, you can get Lemon from there or ask fruit sellers in the market, sometimes, they DO NOT display it, unless you ask them.