In the US, lemons have been grown since the 16th century in Florida, after being brought to the New World by Christopher Columbus. With their high vitamin C content, lemons (along with limes) were valued to protect against the development of scurvy.
During the California Gold Rush, lemons were in such high demand that people paid up to $1 per lemon, which would still be considered pricey today (so it was extremely expensive during the 1800s).
The vitamin C content alone provides good reason to keep a steady supply of lemons on hand, but these bright citrus fruits also contain additional antioxidants known as flavonoids that may play a beneficial role in fighting heart disease, cancer, and inflammation. As noted in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry:
“The anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Citrus flavonoids can play a key role in their activity against several degenerative diseases and particularly brain diseases.”
