According to myths, in the garden of the daughters of the Night - the Hesperides grew golden apples. In this overseas garden was sent Hercules to perform one of his exploits, leading the Hesperides from the garden. This feat was accompanied by adventures, but he drew strength from the golden apples - lemon.

Even the ancient Greeks admired the aroma and color of the lemon. According to legend, fragrant fruits of the color of the sun were presented to the wedding of Gera, when she married Zeus, so that the bride was eternally young and beautiful: "His aroma makes the mind, skin and grain healthy for the heart, the pulp is excellent food, and the juice quenches thirst".

In Scandinavian legends, too, there are references to "golden apples of immortality". In Russian folk tales it is said about the juvenile apples. In fact - this lemons, which in Russia were once considered a great rarity. Yoga at all times called lemon a universal means of maintaining health.

The first literary references to lemons were found in Theophrastus about 300 years before. He wrote that the fragrant fruit was not consumed at all, but was used only to combat moth. Fragrant pieces were put in the folds of clothes.

The fruit of the tree "limug" is mentioned in the ancient Chinese chronicles, although its motherland is undoubtedly India. The word "limuong" in Chinese means "useful for mothers". A word is an orange of German origin, which means "Chinese apple". For delicate "Chinese apples" began to build a special room - greenhouses (from the French word l'orange).

Citrus fruits (oranges, tangerines, lemons) are covered with a dense peel that contains a significant amount of essential oils. The flesh of citrus fruits is divided into lobules covered with white film. In the center of the pulp is a white tasteless core or bitter (grapefruit).

Citrus fruits contain a significant amount of vitamin C, B vitamins and vitamin P. These fruits have sugar and organic acids. Essential oils give them a subtle, attractive fragrance.

Oranges, tangerines and grapefruits are a delicious, refreshing dessert; They quench thirst well and are usually used fresh. A good taste is also the juice of citrus fruits.

Oranges.

Depending on the variety, there are thin-skinned and thick-skinned, with or without seeds, round or oval. In our country, local varieties of oranges are more common, as well as Washington Navel - a rounded form of sweetly sour fruit, fragrant, with a tubercle at the top. Orange contains vitamins A, B2, B6, C; Sugar, water, carbohydrates, acids, nitrogenous substances, fiber, ash, essential oils.

Oranges perfectly stop uterine bleeding (the threat of premature birth, miscarriage, climacteric and profuse menstrual bleeding). To do this, it is necessary to weld unripe oranges in the skin. Eat 7-9 pieces. Per day for 30-50 grams.

Herbert Shelton, a connoisseur of juices, strongly warns that orange juice and the orange itself should be consumed no earlier than in 20-30 minutes. After a meal, otherwise you can "get" a disease of the digestive system, "indigestion".

Arensky wrote in his manual for zemstvo physicians: "He who drinks orange juice, does not know the measure, will drink, his liver will be weakened and subjected to illnesses".

Grapefruit.

It is bred in India, it is a hybrid of orange and sheddok - a variety of lemon. It can be used and used for treatment, like a lemon. It has a bit more bitterness, mostly in partitions. Very useful for lowering blood pressure during menopause, both in men and women; Restores strength.

Mandarins.

Contain from 6 to 8% of sugar and from 0.6 to 1% of acids, they have a lot of vitamin C.

The green peel of mandarins removed in an immature state during the lining is yellow-orange in color, the taste of tangerines improves, they become sweeter. But at storage it is necessary to consider, that at temperature nearby zero ° C and more fruits are covered with stains and quickly spoil.

The same applies to oranges and lemons.

Mandarins are widely used as a hemostatic agent (menopausal bleeding). But most widely used in folk medicine as an antifungal agent: repeated rubbing of the juice of a lobule or mandarin skin tends to heal the skin, nails infected with a fungus.

Lemons.

They are distinguished by considerable storage stability, as a result of which they serve as the richest source of vitamin C throughout the whole winter. In cooking, lemons are used very widely, including for giving a pleasant taste to fish hot dishes and snacks.

Avicenna (Ibn Sina) in his practice very widely used lemons for the removal of toxicosis in pregnant women. Formulated a formula for the treatment of gonorrhea in women, which, having changed, has reached our time: prepare the vaccine or use topically in combination with streptocide, sulfonamides.

From the East came treatment with the help of lemon amenorrhea, ovulation of the uterus, postpartum cleansing. The recipe is as follows: crush the shell of 5 raw eggs, mix with 2-3 finely chopped uncooked lemons (the amount depends on the size of the fruit). Insist one day. Then add a liter of vodka. Take 50 ml 3 times a day after 20 minutes. after meal. Drink 3-6 months. It will also help in the lowering of the stomach.

The fruits of some citrus fruits do not sometimes fall 1.5-2 years. As a rule, lemons and oranges do not fall off in the first year of life. If they are not cut off before the winter by yellow, they again begin to turn green in the spring. Summer their peel is very thick. In the fall, she turns yellow again, as if ripening again. But biennial fruits, despite the size, have less flavor and medicinal qualities, that is, they contain less vitamins, acids. Therefore, do not pursue large, thick-skinned fruits, they may be old. It should also be taken into account that, as a rule, lemons are torn off by green ones, they can not even be compared with ripe ones by their medicinal properties.

In lemons, a lot of potassium, the largest amount of citrine among the products known to us, a lot of ascorbic acid, they strengthen, make the walls of small blood vessels elastic, actively participate in oxidation-reduction processes. That's why so many recipes for the treatment of sclerosis, include lemon.

Health. Sumy. Ua.