Gums

[PomegranatePip]

I've been eating lemons the last few days, trying to get my bioflavonoids. The problem I'm having, though, is with my gums (and, to a lesser extent, the insides of my cheeks). Everything feels raw! And I mean raw as in sore... not raw as in wonderfully healthy. :)

My mouth feels like it's been burned with acid. If lemons have an alkalinizing effect on the body, why should this be happening?

Any ideas?

[EZ rider]

I've heard that the outermost layer of the lemon and orange have a volatile oil (an incendiary) that gives them a bitter taste. Maybe that is causing the problem, are you using the outer layer of the peel, thats the part with all the bright color just above the white pithy part. The white pithy part is where most of the bioflavonoids are.

[PomegranatePip]

Oh, no. I'm cutting the yellow part off and just eating the pithy white part and the juicy inner part.

[EZ rider]

There shouldn't be any problem from using the white pithy part and the inside. I have been using those parts for years, in fact I use a peeler so that just the bright color is removed and as much of the white pithy part as possible is used.

[Judy]

Well, yeah, somewhere on a website it said that lemons act alkalizing IN the body, I don't know if this is really true, only because someone said so. It might be, but I believe that all citrus fruits just are/act acidic, at least in the mouth or on the skin, and therefore eat away at your gums/teeth when you eat them (or drink the juices). Have you ever noticed that your enamel gets rough or your tongue hurts after eating citrus fruits (or other acidic fruits like pineapple)? This simply means the acid eats away at it! And it includes lemon as well. Maybe it just has an alkalizing effect after it has been digested.

So I'd say, just don't overdo it, and always swish with some water to get the ph level in your mouth back to neutral as soon as possible. You can also use a straw while drinking the juice, so it doesn't get in contact with your gums and enamel much or mix it, for example, with green juice.

Another proof that lemons are acidic: when bitten by a mosquito for example, you can put something sour on the spot, to help against itch (the poison of most insects is alkaline, so as a counteract, something acidic is used). AVC (or any other vinegar) works wonders, but lemon works even better: within minutes after putting it on, the swelling and itching is over. That's not only my experience, but of others as well.

[luckitri]

Maybe your body just does not want lemons right now. They are not in season anyway. I have gone through phases where I could not get enough lemons and now where I have had hardly any in months. I have a wide mouth juicer and often just throw the whole lemon in. Especially in the summer when the water just was not enough to quench my thirst - that juiced lemon zest really helped. But again, I just do it from a intuitive craving aspect not an intellectual "I want to alkalize" aspect. . . and my body has not been telling me to do it lately. Just being raw should be alkalizing enough I would think.