Provincial Provence: Incorporate Lemons into your daily Mediterranean Lifestyle for Inner Beauty

You know that lemons are a valuable source of vitamin C, that’s it’s an antioxidant and good for your health. However, you might not know the following:

Freezing lemons

Yes, to save time you can freeze whole lemons and keep them in the freezer. Wash them and freeze them whole. The zest is just as good as the juice so next time you do your weekly shop for vegetables and fruit, make sure you buy an ample supply. Simply grate the frozen lemon over your sauces, soups or use in a marinade – it’s that simple.

Start the day with a hot lemon drink.

Even here in the South of France, you can still get winter blues. Okay, we do have a bit more sunshine than the north of France, but we still need to boost our energy levels, making sure we get the right nutrients into our system and beat those dreaded winter blues. This is where the humble lemon comes in. Besides gently waking up your digestive system, you activate the liver; it functions correctly, getting rid of unwanted toxins.

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a cup of hot water; add a teaspoon of honey and a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Have this before breakfast and make it a routine; it’s an ideal way to wake up your liver with a good dose of vitamin C and to start your healthy daily intake of extra virgin.

Shadows and Dark Rings

Stress, genetic factors, and lack of sleep can cause dark circles under your eyes sometimes called bags under the eyes. You’ll come across home remedies such as cucumber and tea bags, but did you know you can use a mixture of olive oil and lemon as well?

Mix two tablespoons of olive oil with the juice of half a lemon. Using a cotton ball apply on the eyes, press lightly on the dark circles for about five minutes, then rinse. Lemon is known for its skin lightening properties, while olive oil hydrates the skin

Massage Oil

Nothing beats a massage to make you unwind and feel relaxed. Here’s massage oil you can use at home. Start by putting 200 ml (7 ounces) of olive oil in your massage bowl; add the juice of one whole lemon and eight drops or so of lavender oil, the essential oil recognized for its calming and relaxing properties. It is ready to use.

Stop that itching

You don't have to put up with skin rashes and eczema - try pure lemon juice on the area, it will soothe and give relief to your itchy skin.

And did you know that August 29 is National Lemon Day? Don't wait for that day to celebrate, let every day be a lemon day.

Full of goodness, a lemon a day is the way to go for perfect cleaning and cleansing.

These are some of the home remedies in chapter 6 of 7 Wonders of Olive Oil.