Lemon: Rich in vitamin C and valuable antioxidants

General about the lemon

Even though Johann Wolfgang von Goethe named Italy the land of lemons, it is highly likely that the yellow superfruits did not originally come from Italy, but from West Asia, China and the Middle East.

Over time, lemons became known in warm countries around the globe.

Botanically, the lemon is probably a cross between the bitter orange and the citronate lemon. The citronate lemon is probably the oldest type of lemon, as it is considered the only citrus species that was known in ancient times.

For a long time, the lemon was a symbol of wealth and nobility. Only later it was used to refine dishes. Also, the use of lemon as a remedy became popular only later. Although it was used as an ingredient in plague medicines – the real boom in the use of lemon as a medicine did not establish itself until the 17th century.

Seamen who “contracted” a vitamin deficiency and suffered from scurvy during long voyages were provided with lemons and oranges.

Scurvy is a severe form of vitamin C deficiency. Avitaminosis manifests itself mainly in connective tissue, cartilage and blood vessels. Among other things, disorders of the musculoskeletal system, immunodeficiency with increased susceptibility to infections, and mucosal bleeding occur. In addition, there are general symptoms such as a feeling of weakness, fever and a drop in performance.

However, such a serious vitamin C deficiency is usually more common today.

Valuable vitamins and antioxidants

Lemon is very rich in valuable vitamins and antioxidants. This is relevant for you as an athlete because you put your body in stressful situations through physical exertion. This causes the formation of free radicals. Free radicals have a number of negative effects on your body and therefore need to be eliminated as best as possible.

Antioxidants are necessary to neutralize free radicals. Antioxidants are found in fruits and vegetables, including lemon.

The lemon also contains numerous vitamins, the content of vitamin C is particularly high.

Vitamin C supports the immune system. This is often weakened in athletes due to the hard training sessions.

The following vitamins are in the lemon:

Rich in essential minerals

In addition to vitamins, lemon also provides important minerals. Why minerals are important for you as an athlete, you will learn HERE.

As visible in the table, the content of potassium is the highest. This is interesting for athletes because relatively high amounts of potassium are lost through sweat: 200-480mg per liter of sweat.

The minerals of the lemon:

Lemon to promote iron absorption

Iron deficiency is particularly common among endurance athletes. For athletes, an iron deficiency means a considerable drop in performance in addition to the health effects. A deficiency should therefore be avoided as far as possible.

While there are numerous foods that inhibit iron absorption, vitamin C helps with iron absorption. This is because the combination of iron-rich foods with vitamin C increases absorption.

A simple trick, for example, is to put some lemon on your food (if it contains iron).

Lemon in our products

Since we do not want to deprive you of the numerous positive properties of lemon and always rely on the power of nature, we use real lemon powder in two of our products.

In RECOVERY 8 lemon powder helps you to make the most of the regeneration phase. Especially through the optimal composition of all 8 essential amino acids accelerates the  RECOVERY 8  the regeneration after muscularly particularly strenuous units. 

Due to the contained, real lemon powder, your body is supplied with important antioxidants, which your immune system will be happy about. After training, athletes enter an immunosuppressed phase. If the products supplied at this time contain antioxidants and vitamins, it will help you stay healthy.

We have also relied on the power of lemon in SLOW CARB NA+. The contained lemon fruit powder gives the SLOW CARB Na+ a pleasant, natural and fruity taste, without tasting aggressive or artificial.

This is especially important for long training sessions, because after a while a too aggressive taste can be repulsive. In addition, the real lemon fruit powder provides you with plenty of antioxidants during the workout.