# FRESH LEMON JUICE HAS HELPED ME!



## sanjeev

I have had miserable daily IBS-D for 20 years now, and my doctor is very good and understanding, he can do nothing nor fully comprehend the actual devestating and disrupting effect of such a disorder. I would eat, and get a bloated stomach, and usually have an episode within 20 mins to an hour or two. I have tried everything the doctors suggest (such as fiber as well as prescription drugs), and nothing helped at all. The only thing that has made life bearable is exercise (strenght training) and a very restricted diet. A few years ago, I did come across Linda's Calcium Therapy, and it helped reduce symptoms, but it was no cure. And while calcium therapy did help, the more I took, the more constipated I would become, which would result in a lot of unbearable bowel pain (the same thing would happed if I took pepto bismol...so I rarely ever take it unless I am forced to go out for a social evening). Continued research pointed me to Habba Syndrome, which seems to be a good fit, despite what my doctor thinks, but I have yet to try the meds.

But more to the point of this thread, a couple of years ago my mother was stricken with cancer, and in our readings, we found out what a good cancer fighter lemons are...among their other beneficial properties. Well I recently decided that drinking fresh lemon juice would be a very easy, cheap, and safe thing to do to get so many health benifits, the least of which would be to help cleanse my bowels and possibly help guard against cancer. Never did I think that it would help with my IBS the way it has! I have been drinking it for several weeks now, and I have not had one single episode! I do not get stomach bloating / inflammation, and my bowel movements are mostly well formed and regular. Usually if I ate eggs, I would have a reaction almost immediately or several hours afterwards, but I seem to be able to eat them now with minimal discomfort. I still take calcium before meals, but it would seem that the lemon juice is helping. There are times where I have noticed a little bit of somach inflammation from getting too confident and eating large meals (I'm talking about 2 big slices of meatloaf or a steak, and a full plate of mashed potatoes and steamed vegtables), but if I drink a glass of lemon juice and rest, it brings things under control.

If you are a chronic IBS-D sufferer, I suggest you look into Linda's Calcium Therapy as well as Habba Syndrome. And I strongly suggest you give fresh lemon juice a try and see if it works for you. What I do, is get 4 fresh and firm lemons and scrub the peels very well. I then grate the lemons peels (as the peel is higher in Vitamin C, and possibly other compounds, than the juice) and make a tea from the grated peel. I get enough peelings to fill a tea ball (both sides) twice. You can grate however you like, but I microplane the peel to extract the most nutrients out of it when I boil it in 3 cups of water. I then extract the lemon juice from the peeled lemons and make lemonade in a 4:1 ratio of water to juice. I only add enough sugar to make it drinkable, which is about 1/4-1/2 cup for me as I like the sourness of lemons and limes, and excess sugar is supposed to be bad for ibs sufferers. I have one tall glass of lemonade in the morning, and have a cup or two of lemon peel tea during the day, and still take calcium before my dinner. So far it's worked consistently well for me to the point where I am in a weird limbo of not actually being sick. Although it has only been several weeks, I will wait several months to see if it's effectiveness remains, but atleast these past several weeks have been bliss.

Although everyone is different, and different therapies effect everyone differently or not at all, I hope some of you will try this and see if it works for you! Good luck.


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## Kitty G

Sanjeev, It sounds a lot like you are increasing the stomach acid in your stomach instead of blocking it like most people do with acid blockers like Prevacid, Zantac, etc. I was told 80% of the people who block the acid actually need to increase their acid for digestion. Most people block the acid for heartburn but by increasing the acid, bacteria can't live in that environment and that helps with the situation. Many people drink apple cider vinegar for the same results. You sound very similar to me with the distended stomach. I would highly recommend the book "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall. She has compiled decades of research on healing the gut and explains exactly what is happening inside you. She also gives a list of legal and illegal foods so that you know exactly what you should not be eating. It's very eye opening. I've struggled with this for over 40 years and since starting her diet 10 days ago, I'm feeling much better. I really can't recommend it enough. Good luck.

Kitty


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## sanjeev

Hi Kitty, thanks for the info about the book, I will definitely purchase it the next time I place a book order!

You are probably correct about the lemon juice aiding digestion, because that is one of the things it is known to do, as well as cut down stomach inflammation, as well as having a very befecical alkaline effect on the body. The chinese have termed IBS-D as Spleen Qi Deficiency, and treat it as a failure of the body to produce enough digestive acid / enzymes.

I realize that drinking lemon juice won't have any effect on some people, and that some people probably read my post with skepticism. But people with the same symptoms can have so many different causes, and living your life gulping down immodium or pepto bismol or fiber with every meal isn't going to work forever. My point was just that drinking lemon juice is such a simple and safe thing to try, and provides so many numerous health benifits, and I really hope other IBS sufferers try it and see how they feel after several weeks. Even if it doens't work for them, it still might be something worth doing in their daily routines as it has become in mine.


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## Moises

sanjeev,

Thanks for explaining what helped you.

How long do you boil the grated peel?

Thanks,

moises


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## sanjeev

Hello Moises, I boil my microplaned peel for 20 mins in a little over 3 cups of water. If you grate the peel or use shavings, then perhaps you might have to adjust the time. But I decide it's done when the water turns a nice yellow colour and a nice lemon aroma is given off. I am not sure if the lemon tea helps with my IBS-D, but it's a waste to throw it away since you are doing the work of extracting the lemon juice anyway, and there is supposedly 5x more vitamin C in the peel than the juice. The way I look at it, is that the lemon juice helps me with bowel/liver cleansing and stomach/bowel inflammation, and that the lemon peel tea is giving me a very potent source of easily absorbed vit C as well as any other benefical compounds that might be there...so it's silly to throw the peel away since it only take a few seconds to grate it! Just a note...you only want to grate the yellow peel (rind), and not the bitter white pith.


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## Moises

sanjeev,

Thanks for the clarification.

Actually, I only care about my IBS. But if I wanted to maximize my benefits (while ignoring the costs of unpleasant gustatory experiences) I would consume the bitter pith because it is rich in bioflavonoids.


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## sanjeev

yeah, I still am unsure about how much real value is in the pith, as I read some postings stating it's worthless and only the rind is beneficial, and still other postings stating the pith is valuable as well.


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## sanjeev

It has now been 2 months, and I am still having very good results with drinking fresh lemon juice in the morning, taking calcium before any large meals dinner (actually I have been able to reduce the amount of calcium I have been taking), and drinking lemon peel tea at night (or lemon juice if I don't have any peelings left). I still have some stomach irritation, but compared to the daily episodes I normally have, it is nothing. And so far, I have gone from near daily diarreah (or close to it), to practially normal bowel function where I really only have a major episode once every 3-4 weeks so far! I have run out of lemon juice for two or three days...and I definitely notice a difference in the behavior of my bowels! I am not saying this is a cure...but it might help SOME people to reduce thier daily symptoms!

A note for those who wish to make lemon peel tea...it is a good idea to scrub the lemons in warm soapy water and then rinse them off before you grate them. The warm soapy water will wash off any pesticides or residue better than just cold water washing.


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## Colt

Thanks for the update Sanjeev.


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## CindiM

I agree that a lot of relief can be found with lemon juice. It has been the only thing that has given me any relief at all in recent history. I just use lemon juice--I am allergic to the pith (get rashes, headaches and mouth sores)--so I actually have had to resort to those bottles of Realemon Juice you buy. It contains only citric acid and lemon juice. It is cheap and readily available.

I had originally tried to re-acidify my stomach with raw apple cider vinegar, but that stuff burns in the stomach. It hurts. And it tastes awful. So I have roughly 1 1/2 oz of lemon juice before each meal (equivalent to the juice of one lemon, I drink it straight or mixed with water). If I get a stomach ache mid-day, I'll have a big shot of lemon juice in a glass of water then, too. Heck, some days, I just add lemon juice to everything I drink because it tastes good, and for the first time in many months, it feels...ok...down there. The ND, dietitian and gastroenterologist are all ok with this. My regular physician is a little afraid I'll give myself an ulcer eventually, but no one else thinks so, so I persist.

I have tried every other aid out there, I believe--digestive enzymes, probiotics, etc. I refuse to take prescription medicine. I feel very strongly that an imbalance in stomach acid and in stomach bacteria are largely to blame, compounded with complicating factors like stress. I took acid blockers for 25 years. And then stopped. And everything was great for a year or two--and then this happened. Relief in the face of all this.

At least lemon juice is easy, cheap, and accessible. Wish I'd discovered it before dropping many hundreds of dollars on other alternate medicines.


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## TammyM

sanjeev said:


> I have had miserable daily IBS-D for 20 years now, and my doctor is very good and understanding, he can do nothing nor fully comprehend the actual devestating and disrupting effect of such a disorder. I would eat, and get a bloated stomach, and usually have an episode within 20 mins to an hour or two. I have tried everything the doctors suggest (such as fiber as well as prescription drugs), and nothing helped at all. The only thing that has made life bearable is exercise (strenght training) and a very restricted diet. A few years ago, I did come across Linda's Calcium Therapy, and it helped reduce symptoms, but it was no cure. And while calcium therapy did help, the more I took, the more constipated I would become, which would result in a lot of unbearable bowel pain (the same thing would happed if I took pepto bismol...so I rarely ever take it unless I am forced to go out for a social evening). Continued research pointed me to Habba Syndrome, which seems to be a good fit, despite what my doctor thinks, but I have yet to try the meds.
> 
> But more to the point of this thread, a couple of years ago my mother was stricken with cancer, and in our readings, we found out what a good cancer fighter lemons are...among their other beneficial properties. Well I recently decided that drinking fresh lemon juice would be a very easy, cheap, and safe thing to do to get so many health benifits, the least of which would be to help cleanse my bowels and possibly help guard against cancer. Never did I think that it would help with my IBS the way it has! I have been drinking it for several weeks now, and I have not had one single episode! I do not get stomach bloating / inflammation, and my bowel movements are mostly well formed and regular. Usually if I ate eggs, I would have a reaction almost immediately or several hours afterwards, but I seem to be able to eat them now with minimal discomfort. I still take calcium before meals, but it would seem that the lemon juice is helping. There are times where I have noticed a little bit of somach inflammation from getting too confident and eating large meals (I'm talking about 2 big slices of meatloaf or a steak, and a full plate of mashed potatoes and steamed vegtables), but if I drink a glass of lemon juice and rest, it brings things under control.
> 
> If you are a chronic IBS-D sufferer, I suggest you look into Linda's Calcium Therapy as well as Habba Syndrome. And I strongly suggest you give fresh lemon juice a try and see if it works for you. What I do, is get 4 fresh and firm lemons and scrub the peels very well. I then grate the lemons peels (as the peel is higher in Vitamin C, and possibly other compounds, than the juice) and make a tea from the grated peel. I get enough peelings to fill a tea ball (both sides) twice. You can grate however you like, but I microplane the peel to extract the most nutrients out of it when I boil it in 3 cups of water. I then extract the lemon juice from the peeled lemons and make lemonade in a 4:1 ratio of water to juice. I only add enough sugar to make it drinkable, which is about 1/4-1/2 cup for me as I like the sourness of lemons and limes, and excess sugar is supposed to be bad for ibs sufferers. I have one tall glass of lemonade in the morning, and have a cup or two of lemon peel tea during the day, and still take calcium before my dinner. So far it's worked consistently well for me to the point where I am in a weird limbo of not actually being sick. Although it has only been several weeks, I will wait several months to see if it's effectiveness remains, but atleast these past several weeks have been bliss.
> 
> Although everyone is different, and different therapies effect everyone differently or not at all, I hope some of you will try this and see if it works for you! Good luck.


I Will be trying this


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## doctorsareuseless

Has it still helped?


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## AnitaG

I have been drinking Braggs Apple cider vinegar for about a year now.. I use distilled water, about a couple teaspoons of vinegar, a dash of baking soda and top it off with Vitamin water.(probably any juice/drink you like would work?).. the soda knocks some of the acid down and causes a fun fizz, and I love the drink..its yummy and refreshing. not sure it has made any difference to the IBS,maybe it has, but its hard to say because I am on the otc stuff we all take ( calcium carbonate, Immodium (as needed), gasX.)and I have a Very strict diet, BUT.. the combination of all of it helps keep it manageable. Guess that's all we can hope for since the medical profession does not seem to take it serious.. Imagine, we pay them to treat ourselves! what a deal..


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## francez

Just wanna say I encountered IBS-D really bad about a year ago. It was difficult to manage other than pills for diarreah. In time I found that lemon juice or lemons helped me tremendously! 
I had been having hurting teeth for some time but kept putting the dentist off. Needless to say by the time I went in to see the dentist I had gum inflamation, bacteria, a severly infected tooth, a cavity and needed two route canals and a crown! 
Found out that the bacteria was causing the IBS-D and the pain from it was causing the stress, lack of sleep, raising my blood pressure and much more to my body. It's also costing around $4,000 and not much help from my health ins.
I had one route canal done, a cleaning and taking antibiotics for the infection, pain killers, and was given a wash to kill the mouth bacteria and haven't had issues with IBS-D again! Also no bloating.
Still eating lemons and drinking lemon juice. I used to hate the sourness of lemons but found a lemon tree called MEYER lemons; they still have a zip to them but they are sooo good I even eat the rind! Find the tree at a nursery and plant it! You will not regret it!
So yes, now I am more selective in what I eat and will definitely take care of my mouth!


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## francez

doctorsareuseless said:


> Has it still helped?


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## francez

I wouldn't say drs are hopeless...they just know everything esp when it comes to natural ways of healing unless maybe you go to a naturopathic. 
I thank God for the internet! I find so many ways of healing and so much faster and without having to take more pills which damage my liver!


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## francez

They just *don't know....


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## francez

Something else for people to get informed about is alkaline and acidic foods. I found out that that lemons are acid but once in the body they are alkaline! Our bodies NEED TO KEEP THE pH BALANCED! Alkaline foods are good for IBS'ers.


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## rosierose

Thanks for all of this really helpful information - when is the best time to drink the lemon juice? Just before a meal or after?

Thanks!


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## WilliamLondon

sanjeev said:


> I have had miserable daily IBS-D for 20 years now, and my doctor is very good and understanding, he can do nothing nor fully comprehend the actual devestating and disrupting effect of such a disorder. I would eat, and get a bloated stomach, and usually have an episode within 20 mins to an hour or two. I have tried everything the doctors suggest (such as fiber as well as prescription drugs), and nothing helped at all. The only thing that has made life bearable is exercise (strenght training) and a very restricted diet. A few years ago, I did come across Linda's Calcium Therapy, and it helped reduce symptoms, but it was no cure. And while calcium therapy did help, the more I took, the more constipated I would become, which would result in a lot of unbearable bowel pain (the same thing would happed if I took pepto bismol...so I rarely ever take it unless I am forced to go out for a social evening). Continued research pointed me to Habba Syndrome, which seems to be a good fit, despite what my doctor thinks, but I have yet to try the meds.
> 
> But more to the point of this thread, a couple of years ago my mother was stricken with cancer, and in our readings, we found out what a good cancer fighter lemons are...among their other beneficial properties. Well I recently decided that drinking fresh lemon juice would be a very easy, cheap, and safe thing to do to get so many health benifits, the least of which would be to help cleanse my bowels and possibly help guard against cancer. Never did I think that it would help with my IBS the way it has! I have been drinking it for several weeks now, and I have not had one single episode! I do not get stomach bloating / inflammation, and my bowel movements are mostly well formed and regular. Usually if I ate eggs, I would have a reaction almost immediately or several hours afterwards, but I seem to be able to eat them now with minimal discomfort. I still take calcium before meals, but it would seem that the lemon juice is helping. There are times where I have noticed a little bit of somach inflammation from getting too confident and eating large meals (I'm talking about 2 big slices of meatloaf or a steak, and a full plate of mashed potatoes and steamed vegtables), but if I drink a glass of lemon juice and rest, it brings things under control.
> 
> If you are a chronic IBS-D sufferer, I suggest you look into Linda's Calcium Therapy as well as Habba Syndrome. And I strongly suggest you give fresh lemon juice a try and see if it works for you. What I do, is get 4 fresh and firm lemons and scrub the peels very well. I then grate the lemons peels (as the peel is higher in Vitamin C, and possibly other compounds, than the juice) and make a tea from the grated peel. I get enough peelings to fill a tea ball (both sides) twice. You can grate however you like, but I microplane the peel to extract the most nutrients out of it when I boil it in 3 cups of water. I then extract the lemon juice from the peeled lemons and make lemonade in a 4:1 ratio of water to juice. I only add enough sugar to make it drinkable, which is about 1/4-1/2 cup for me as I like the sourness of lemons and limes, and excess sugar is supposed to be bad for ibs sufferers. I have one tall glass of lemonade in the morning, and have a cup or two of lemon peel tea during the day, and still take calcium before my dinner. So far it's worked consistently well for me to the point where I am in a weird limbo of not actually being sick. Although it has only been several weeks, I will wait several months to see if it's effectiveness remains, but atleast these past several weeks have been bliss.
> 
> Although everyone is different, and different therapies effect everyone differently or not at all, I hope some of you will try this and see if it works for you! Good luck.
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Sanjeev
> 
> Googled IBS LEMON JUICE (trying to find out if i was alone in discovering this) and I stumbled on exactly the same remedy for IBS-C and SIBO independently after two years of trying masses of treatments.
> 
> *IT REALLY WORKS*
> 
> I have also been diagnosed with SIBO with a Lactulose Breath Test.
> 
> EXACTLY like the very clever Kitty G points out it is because our guts have had their acid weakened. I had tried HCL and Apple Cider Vinegar before but HCL is weird and dangerous (one capsule nearly went into my lungs) and ACV isn't actually as Acidic as Lemon Juice (look up their pH values). There is some controversy about online about whether HCL is acidic - I bought some ph testers off Amazon and can confirm it is - VERY!
> 
> The people who talk about alkalizing the body are talking nonsense. There is no proof of this at all. What is true is that the gut needs to be acidic enough to digest food. If it isn't one gets all kinds of complications.
> 
> In conjunction with:
> 
> A ) *drinking lemon juice* (*NO SUGAR*, one glass of water with half a lemon's juice only - twice or three times a day) - don't get it on your teeth too much
> 
> I also:
> 
> B ) *Don't drink masses of water or other liquids* (a glass of water before bedtime - and lemon juice/with water only when I am thirsty - water simply dilutes stomach acid). Once a week drink red wine with a meal (this has the same acidic effect - but apart from this I avoid alcohol)
> 
> C ) Strictly follow either the FODMAP or better yet the excellent* FAST TRACT DIET* by Norm Robillard (basically cutting out complex carbohydrates which create gas)
> 
> -
> 
> With these 3 measures I have got control of a problem which has plagued me for at least twenty years. Nothing else works as well as this simple combination of a low carb diet and lemon juice - and I have tried everything believe me - Buscopan, CBT, Probiotics, Enzymes, HCL, FODMAPS (which is not as good as the genius FAST TRACT)
> 
> Besides being acidic Lemon Juice also contains a high quotient of Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) which is a natural anti-inflammatory and antihistamine. Lemons have extremely low levels of Fructose too which means they are about one of the only good fruits to eat.
> 
> @Sanjeev I would simplify your drink if i were you - by removing the sugar and just squeezing the juice into water. Also try Norm Robillard's FAST TRACT DIET.
Click to expand...


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## Desert Fox

Lemon is of high health benefits, but it does corrode your teeth seriously...


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