WHY USE LEMON WITH BEANS

Lemon juice allows you to take advantage of the natural benefits of homemade lentils.

A lemon is a fruit, but it is different from other fruits. The most common is that this fruit is so sweet that people can't help but want to bite, but whoever dares to bite ends up with the most bitter expression. Its sour taste is unbearable, although it has many uses in the kitchen: we can use its juice to prepare salads or the refreshing aroma of the peel to prepare countless dishes. If you think it won't add any value to your health, it won't.

As the Spanish Nutrition Foundation (FEN) explains, the most interesting ingredients for health are found in the skin and the white layer underneath. These phytonutrients, which have been linked to several health benefits, including heart protection, include several flavonoids that the agency named hesperidin, diosmin, naringenin and eriocitrin. Of course, lemons also contain vitamins. Best of all, these citrus fruits are rich in the famous vitamin C.

Lemons have slightly lower levels of vitamin C than oranges: 50 milligrams per 100 grams, compared to 53 milligrams per 100 grams of oranges. Although these two citrus fruits are known as the kings of vitamin C, there are other vegetables with higher levels, such as paprika, a fruit unknown in Spain, but capable of accumulating 2780 mg of vitamin C. 100 g You might think that this vitamin is especially important to use in winter to prevent colds and flu, but this is a myth.

Although the recommended nutrients, vitamins, and minerals help keep our immune systems functioning optimally, there is no evidence that increasing your intake of this particular vitamin will help resolve these infections. Now vitamin C is also involved in other very important processes. This vitamin is also a powerful antioxidant, but it is also important for the body's production of collagen in blood vessels, cartilage, muscles and bones. This latter substance is best known for its role in aging, but is also essential for tissue regeneration through healing. If we lack vitamin C, we can develop a disease called scurvy, which can cause fatigue, spots on the skin, joint pain and even be fatal if left untreated.

However, the benefits of vitamin C do not end there. It also improves the body's ability to absorb iron from food. For this reason, doctors recommend adding a plate of lentils for dessert with some fruit rich in vitamin C, such as an orange or kiwi, or even gazpacho with peppers. because? The iron molecules in plant foods are different from those in animal meat.
Lens splash

The iron we get from meat is protected by hemoglobin molecules, but the iron we get from food can be affected by other substances in the digestive system, preventing it from being absorbed. In this sense, vitamin C protects the iron so that it reaches the last part of the intestine and is absorbed there. Lemon can be very helpful in this regard: but don't worry, you don't have to take a bite after eating lentils. Food technologist Mario Sánchez explained in an interview that we can put it in the lentils ourselves and press it on the plate. "Nutritionally, it's top notch. Because it helps to better absorb plant-based iron, which is the most difficult type of iron for us to absorb. It is then served as a dessert with vitamin C, lemon, orange for better iron absorption,” he said. The expert from Murcia explained that in his country it is customary to squeeze lemon on almost everything.