The Ultimate Guide to Homeopathy

By the 17th century, sailors had already realized the benefits of oranges and other citrus fruits on long sea voyages — though it took many more years to solve the problem of keeping the fruits for long enough for their benefit to be felt. Orange juice was well-known to be a healthy drink, especially for children. Surprisingly, the only other part of the orange that was regularly used in remedies was the dried peel, which appeared in several recipes describing tonics for various purposes.

Lemons had far more varied uses. Some recommended lemon juice and coffee for a headache (that would make a very nasty cup of coffee…). Lemon juice was also widely used for coughs and colds, to soothe the throat; a combination of lemon juice, honey, cloves, hot water and some form of alcohol — a toddy — is still drunk by some to this day to relieve colds and flu. For those suffering from mouth ulcers, a suggested remedy — though surely a painful one — was to **** on a lemon. The juice of the lemon was also reputed to soothe heart palpitations and to act as a sedative.

Lemon juice could be applied externally as well. Applying lemon juice to the skin was reputed to fade freckles and to whiten the skin, and also to relieve eczema and other types of itching. A sliced lemon added to one’s morning bath was said to refresh the body and to tone one’s skin. Some even suggested that, if you were suffering from aches and pains, lemon juice applied to the affected part could relieve them, in conjunction with a hot compress — though one might conjecture that the compress had more effect than the juice, in that case.

So next time you need a pick-me-up or simply can’t get rid of that maddening itch — why not cut up some citrus fruit and see if it helps?