Lemon Steam Distilled Oil

Lemon oil have been used  to treat a wide spectrum of health conditions for at least 1,000 years.

Lemon is best known for its ability to cleanse toxins from the body, and it’s widely used to stimulate lymphatic drainage, rejuvenate energy, purify skin, and fight bacteria and fungi. It can used for so many purposes, from a natural teeth whitener to household cleaner, laundry freshener, mood booster and nausea reliever.

Benefits of Lemon

1. Helps Relieve Nausea

If you are looking for a way to get rid of nausea especially if you are pregnant and experiencing morning sickness,  lemon essential oil serves as a natural and effective remedy.

A 2014 double-blind, randomized and controlled critical trial investigated the effect of lemon inhalation on nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. One-hundred pregnant women with nausea and vomiting were divided into intervention and control groups, with the intervention group participants inhaling lemon essential oil as soon as they felt nauseous.

Researchers found that there was a statistically significant difference between the control and intervention groups in the mean scores of nausea and vomiting, with the lemon oil group having much lower scores. This suggests that lemon essential oil can be used as a tool for reducing nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

A 2020 study evaluating the effects of aromatherapy on nausea and vomiting during pregnancy found that combining lemon and peppermint essential oil was effective in reducing mild to moderate symptoms, especially after two to four days of use. For the study, participants inhaled the aroma from cotton balls, but using a diffuser is another great way to use oils aromatically.

2. Improves Digestion

Lemon essential oil can help soothe digestive problems, including issues like gastritis and constipation.

A 2009 animal study published in Chemical and Biological Interactions found that when lemon essential oil was given to rats, it reduced gastritis symptomns by reducing the erosion of gastric mucosa (the lining of your stomach) and working as a gastro-protective agent against stomach legions.

Another 10-day, randomized control study sought to verify the efficacy of lemon, rosemary and peppermint essential oils on constipation in the elderly. Researchers found that those in the aromatherapy group, who received abdominal massages using the essential oils, had significantly lower constipation assessment scores than those in the control group.

They also found that the number of bowel movements was higher in the experimental group. The natural constipation relief among participants in the essential oil group lasted two weeks after treatment.

3. Nourishes Skin

Lemon essential oil benefits your skin by reducing acne, nourishing damaged skin and hydrating the skin. Lab studies show that lemon oil is able to reduce cell and tissue damage in the skin that’s caused by free radicals. This is due to lemon oil’s strong antioxidant activity and anti-aging effects.

A scientific review published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine indicates that lemon essential oil is also effective against skin issues like blisters, insect bites, greasy and oily conditions, cuts, wounds, cellulite, rosacea, and viral infections of the skin like cold sores and warts. This is because lemon oil’s antimicrobial compounds work to treat dermatological conditions naturally.

4. May Promote Weight Loss

Did you know that lemon essential oil may be able to promote the breakdown of body fat? Like grapefruit oil one of the best essential oils for weight loss,  lemon also contains d-limonene.

D-limonene is known to help support your metabolism and cleanse your lymphatic glands. This can help with weight loss.

An animal study published in the Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition found that when mice were supplemented with lemon polyphenols that were extracted from lemon peel for a 12-week period, their body weight gain, fat pad accumulation, and development of hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia and insulin resistance were significantly suppressed.

5. Helps Purify the Body

Lemon oil has a purifying, cleansing and protective effect on the body. It helps defend the body against harmful pathogens and promotes detoxification through the blood and liver.

Lemon oil also stimulates lymphatic drainage. This helps the body cleanse itself of wastes and toxins.

A 2016 animal study found that when lemon essential oil was given to rats that developed aspirin-induced acute liver and kidney damage, it was able to reduce the oxidative stress and damage to both organs.

Another animal study tested the effects of lemon oil and other essential oils on the antioxidant state of organs in mice. When mice were treated with essential oils for six months, even at very low doses, they were able to reduce oxidative stress and maintain the structural integrity and functional activity of the organs.

A mixture of lemon essential oil and ginger extract had the highest antioxidant effect on the liver and brain in mice.

6. Boosts Oral Health

Given that lemon essential oil has proven antibacterial and antifungal properties, it works as a natural remedy for many oral conditions, including oral thrush and bad breath. It can also be used to whiten your teeth naturally and prevent tooth decay. 

A randomized, controlled trial including 90 HIV/AIDS patients evaluated the efficacy of lemon juice in the treatment of oral thrush. Researchers found that the use of lemon juice for oral thrush was validated by its ability to treat the condition in an HIV-positive population.

Although citrus juices are known for their ability to cause tooth erosion after long-term use because of their acidic nature, essential oils do not seem to cause the same acid erosion. That said, study results do indicate that even citrus essential oils should not be used in mouth rinses for extended periods of time or as pre-brush rinses.

7. Relieves Cough and Stimulates Lymphatic Drainage

Lemon oil has antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, so it helps boost your immune system and fight respiratory conditions. It also serves as one of the top essential oils for allergies  

It’s one of the best essential oils for cough because it benefits the lymphatic system. This protects you from harmful pathogens and reduces swelling in your lymph nodes.

Lemon essential oil has been shown to inhibit pro-inflammatory mediators, thereby soothing inflammation and potentially stimulating lymphatic drainage. This can help reduce the accumulation of fluids that can cause you to cough.

8. Works as Antimicrobial Agent

Studies show that lemon essential oil works as a antimicrobial agent because of two dominant compounds found in the oil, limonene and b-pinene. This makes lemon oil a powerful tool in cleaning and food protection.

Lemon oil can be used to cleanse your home of harmful pathogens, like bacteria, fungi and others. Using lemon as a natural cleaning product also keeps your home free of conventional products that are made with dangerous chemicals.

Research also shows that lemon oil can be used to help protect our food system, too. In a study testing the preservative effects of lemon oil, researchers found that lemon inhibited the growth of bacteria growth in minced beef meat.

Lemon essential oil successfully stopped the development of Listeria monocytogenes, suggesting that it plays a role in the prevention of contamination in our food sources. This is helpful for our food system because foods contaminated with bacteria like Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli have been reported to cause foodborne illnesses.

9. May Work as Anti-Tumor Agent

Animal studies show that limonene, a major component of lemon essential oil, has anti-tumor and chemotherapeutic effects. Oral feeding of lemon oil has resulted in significant regression of mammary carcinoma (a breast cancer) without any observable systemic toxicity.

Animal studies also show that using citrus oils containing limonene topically may also be a safe and feasible option for helping women prevent breast cancer, but more research is needed on this topic.

More research shows lemon, cardamom and jasmine oils “possess potent antitumor activity” on human skin, gastric and brain cancer cell lines.

15ml