Lemon (Nimbu)

Lemon is the fruit of Citrus limon, a small evergreen tree of the Rutaceae family. Ayurveda treats the lemon and lime group under the names Nimbuka and Jambira, and the two words are not used with complete consistency across the texts - in most usage Nimbuka is the smaller, sharper fruit and Jambira the larger, juicier one. Both are described as Amla (sour) in rasa, Deepana and Pachana (kindling and aiding digestion), Ruchya (improving taste and appetite) and reducing to Kapha and Vata, with the caution that their sour, sharp nature increases Pitta and Rakta when taken in excess. Its traditional use is closest to the kitchen: a few drops of the juice sharpen a dull appetite and cut through the heaviness of a Kapha-type meal, which is why it appears in before-meal relishes such as the ginger and lemon Agni relish, in sour drinks for thirst, and as a souring agent in many household preparations. Classical and folk practice also uses it where a mild sour taste is needed to stimulate Agni - in the appetite loss of convalescence, in dullness after eating, and in the nausea or thirst of a Kapha-Pitta imbalance, always in small amounts. Modern nutrition values the fruit for vitamin C, citrate and other organic acids. Those constituents explain some of its long-standing uses, and the citrate content is also why lemon juice is often recommended to people who form certain kidney stones. Other popular claims - that lemon water 'detoxifies' the body, cures infections or melts fat - are not supported by evidence and do not appear in the classical literature. Like all sour substances, lemon is a food and a household support rather than a medicine for everyone, and it is avoided where there is already excess heat or acid in the stomach.