As soon as the autumn arrived, many people in the circle of friends began to dry the "first cup of milk tea in autumn" again, but many people still firmly drank refreshing and healthy lemonade.
In the sweet milk tea color, the refreshing lemon slices float in the transparent water, like a clear stream, making people clear from taste buds to heart fields.
Copyright pictures in the gallery, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
Some friends firmly choose lemonade, not only because of its refreshing taste, but also because they heard that lemonade has many effects, such as whitening and beauty, improving immunity, preventing colds, delaying aging and so on.
Does drinking lemonade really have these effects? Let's start with the answer:
Although drinking lemonade does not have these effects, it still has unique advantages compared to plain water, we recommend: drink more lemon water in summer!
Drink lemonade, what exactly is it drinking?
To find out "what is drinking lemonade", we must first look at what nutrients are contained in a glass of lemonade?
This is the most common glass of lemonade, and the main components are obvious: a slice of lemon + water. Lemon slices, on the other hand, consist of the outer rind, inner rind, lemon pulp and lemon seeds of lemon.
Copyright pictures in the gallery, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
Therefore, the main nutrients of lemonade, in addition to water, basically come from lemon slices, mainly vitamin C, potassium, calcium, a small amount of polyphenols and flavonoids, coumarin, and citric acid, limonene, limonin compounds that bring fresh and complex flavor.
We know that for a food to have the desired effect, on the one hand, it depends on whether it contains the nutrients needed to achieve that effect; On the other hand, it depends on whether the nutrients it contains reach a certain dose. Only when both are satisfied can we achieve what we want.
Can drinking lemonade whiten? A: Not really
If you want to whiten and anti-aging, you can get more vitamin C, high-quality protein, and phytochemicals with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, such as anthocyanins, tea polyphenols, etc. through food.
Unfortunately, lemons do not contain high-quality protein, anthocyanins, tea polyphenols and other phytochemicals are also very few, and the only vitamin C that can bring whitening effects does not seem to be high, let alone lemonade.
We count 60 grams of a lemon, cut into 6 slices, and a slice of lemon is about 10 grams and contains 2.2 mg of vitamin C. That is, soak a glass of water with 2 lemons each time, assuming that all the vitamin C in the lemon slices is dissolved in the water, we can only roughly consume about 5 mg of vitamin C when drinking a glass of lemon water.
This amount is far less than eating a kiwi or eating a handful of strawberries to get vitamin C. Therefore, hoping to rely on lemonade whitening is too illusory.
Copyright pictures in the gallery, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
Does drinking lemonade improve immunity? A: No
Vitamin C does help regulate immunity and can appropriately shorten the duration of cold symptoms and relieve cold symptoms. However, lemonade is not high in vitamin C.
If you really want to improve your immunity, it's far better to eat more white meat rich in high-quality protein, as well as fresh fruits high in vitamin C such as kiwifruit, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, oranges, and fresh dates!
The biggest benefit of drinking lemonade: Makes you drink more water
Drinking lemonade, the most important ingredient we can harvest is "water", but compared to boiled water, lemonade still has unique advantages.
The unique volatile aroma substances of lemon, as well as the sour taste, can enhance the pleasure of drinking water to a certain extent, and may unknowingly increase people's drinking water.
The benefits of drinking more water are obvious, such as smoother bowel movements, help weight loss, and so on.
Especially in the hot summer, a glass of lemonade can indeed be regarded as a good product to relieve the heat and hydrate, drink it to your heart's content!
Copyright pictures in the gallery, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
Drinking lemonade, how to drink it healthier?
It should be noted that it is not recommended to add sugar or honey to flavor lemonade. This will make the originally refreshing and healthy lemonade instantly fall from the seat of "healthy water" to a small assistant for sugar and fattening.
If you want to make lemonade more "tasty", you can try to add some "ingredients" to lemonade and improve it; Combine with other foods for better nutrition.
1
Want to whiten, with fresh fruit and high-quality egg white
Lemonade is low in vitamin C and can be "stacked" with other vitamin C-rich foods to compensate.
For example, afternoon tea can arrange lemonade + strawberries, cherry tomatoes, oranges, kiwi fruits, winter dates and other fruits rich in vitamin C.
Copyright pictures in the gallery, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
At the same time, it can also be paired with some high-quality protein foods, such as instant chicken breast with little seasoning, boiled eggs, and low-salt cheese.
High-quality protein and vitamin C can supplement the raw materials of collagen synthesis in the skin to a certain extent, help the skin to restore elasticity, make the skin plumper, and also appear more "white and tender" to a certain extent.
2
For a better nutrition, pair it with nuts and plain dried fruit
If you feel that lemonade is not as nutritious as you think, you can properly match other foods with high nutrient density, such as plain nuts, or plain dried fruit.
Original nuts can provide minerals and a certain amount of protein, and plain dried fruits can provide relatively rich dietary fiber, as well as certain sugar.
It should be noted that the sugar content of plain dried fruit is generally higher, and if it is used as an additional meal, the main meal can appropriately reduce some staple foods.
Copyright pictures in the gallery, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
3
To taste better, use two tips
The sour taste of lemonade is still easy to accept, and what makes people accept that it is incompetent is the faint bitterness of lemonade. To make lemonade taste better without putting sugar or honey, try two things:
1. Remove the lemon seeds
Lemon seeds and lemon peel are the main source of bitterness in lemonade, especially lemon seeds, which contain very bitter limonin. Because lemon peel contains a large number of flavor substances, it is easy to affect the flavor after removal, and only lemon seeds can be removed, which can greatly reduce the unpleasant taste.
2. Soak lemon in hot water
Hot water is conducive to the release of fragrance substances in lemon peel, and lemonade with rich aroma will properly cover up the discomfort of sour bitterness and make it more acceptable.
But pay attention to the soaking, it is best to drink it after cooling, and the sour bitterness will be relatively light at low temperatures.
Futian is about to pass, and the autumn air is about to replace the sultry heat and humidity, so let's moisturize our mouths and souls with a glass of fresh and fragrant lemonade!
Planning production
Author丨Wang Lu is a registered dietitian in China
Audit丨Ruan Quang Feng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center
Planning丨Linlin
Responsible editor丨Lin Lin, Jin Yufen (intern)
The cover image and the image in this article are from the copyright gallery
Reproduction and use may lead to copyright disputes