What is Lemon Essential Oil Good For?
Lemon oil is often a go-to essential oil, especially for beginners. It’s easy to use and generally considered safe for internal, topical, and aromatic purposes. It is also comparatively less expensive than other essential oils. In fact, it’s one of doTERRA’s top-selling essential oils.
If you’ve read about my introduction to essential oils, then you know that lemon was one of the first essential oils that I ever used. I drank lemon essential oil in my water multiple times a day in order to help support my immune function and detoxify my body.
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1. Pregnancy Nausea & Labor Pains
This benefit was a new one for me – largely because I’ve never been pregnant or experienced the pains of labor. With that said it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that nausea and vomiting are both common pain points in pregnancy.
In a controlled clinical study, 100 pregnant women experiencing nausea and vomiting were divided into an intervention and control group. The intervention group was told to inhale lemon essential oil as soon as they felt nausea, while the control group was given a placebo.
The conclusion?
“Lemon scent can be effective in reducing nausea and vomiting of pregnancy.”
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences [1]
Additionally, the results of a double-blind, controlled clinical study suggest that using citrus oil in aromatherapy can help in relieving first stage labor pain. [2]
I am often asked which essential oils to use during pregnancy, and lemon is now at the top of my recommendations list.
2. Lemon Oil and Gastrointestinal Health Benefits
If you’ve been following our blog for any amount of time, then you know that Chris and I are BIG on the importance of gut health. We realized that it is key to a person’s overall health. And lo and behold, it would appear that lemon essential oil is a potential aid to gut health.
Lemon Oil = Healing Effect
For example, lemon has the potential to heal the gastrointestinal system. When studying rats with chemically induced ulcers, it was concluded that lemon essential oil helped promote gastric healing without any apparent toxic effects. [3, 4]
Lemon Oil = Improved Digestion
Lemon can also be used topically to improve your digestive health. We mentioned this method in an earlier blog regarding essential oils and constipation, and it’s fairly straightforward.
In a study focused on relieving constipation in the elderly, the experimental group received abdominal massages, using rosemary, lemon, and peppermint essential oils. The researches concluded that this treatment “helps relieve constipation in the elderly.” [5]
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Lemon Oil = Digestion Aid
Lemon essential oil is also a potential digestion aid. [6] In a study on rats with diet-induced obesity, researchers found that lemon polyphenols, which is a compound extracted from the peel of a lemon, suppresses body weight gain and body fat accumulation. [7]
{Incidentally, lemon essential oil is also extracted from the peel, using a cold-press method.}
Obviously, if you are trying to lose a significant amount of weight, simply ingesting an essential oil will not cut mustard. If we want to see real change, it will always require dietary improvements and regular exercise (a truth that isn’t going away no matter how many “quick fix” solutions we turn to). With that said, the way I see it is that taking lemon as a digestive aid is a “low risk, high reward” decision. So I have included it into my daily routine as a supplement to diet and exercise.
3. Lemon Oil and Stress Relief
The smell of citrus often brings a calming sensation, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that lemon oil has been studied for its stress relief abilities. [8]
Recommended Reading: Stress & Gut Health
For example, in one study, researchers tested rose, lavender, and lemon essential oils separately on mice to determine the anti-stress effect of each oil, and they concluded that,
“Lemon oil had the strongest anti-stress effect in all three behavioral tasks.”
Yamaguchi University [9]
The potential impact that lemon oil aromatherapy could have is amazing. Long-term exposure to the scent of lemon oil showns changes in behavioral, hormonal, and neuronal parameters in both male and female rats. [10]
4. Lemon Oil and Improved Immune Support
As I mentioned earlier, using lemon oil as a support to my immune system was how I was first introduced to essential oils. Since researching this blog, I have resumed the habit of flavoring my water each day with a couple of drops of lemon oil, and I have already seen improvement in my lymphatic system.
Lemon oil has a wide range of immune benefits, including:
- A bio-antioxidant effect that benefits red blood cells, the liver, and the brain [11]
- A protection effect that prevents liver and kidney damaged caused by aspirin [12]
- A remarkable effect in treating scabies [13]
Additionally, due to its antibacterial [14] and antifungal [15] properties, lemon essential oil is also commonly used as a toxin-free, environmentally-friendly cleaning product to use around the house.
5. Lemon Oil and Your Skin
There are at least 90 different essential oils that have been identified as having dermatological benefit, and lemon is one of them.
Lemon Oil has been used for the following [16]:
Warning: it is important to remember that citrus oils are photosensitive so it’s necessary to avoid direct sunlight for at least 12 hours after using lemon oil on your skin.
Time to Give It a Try!
Lemon is one of those great essential oils that is incredibly versatile and can be safely used aromatically, topically, and internally (I have personally used all three methods of application).
Not to mention that I am only scratching the surface when it comes to the many benefits and uses for lemon essential oil. For now, if you are looking to relieve your nausea, need help managing pain, are experiencing constipation, are stressed out of your mind, are looking for an immune support, or need to address a skin-related condition, then lemon oil might be a great place for you to start.
Is Lemon Oil Safe to Ingest?
The debate is alive and well over whether or not you should ingest essential oils at all (let alone just lemon oil) and there really isn’t a cut and dry answer. Obviously, I’m not a medical professional, but I can walk you through the reasons why Chris and I have and continue to ingest certain essential oils (please note that not ALL essential oils are safe for consumption).
- We Trust Our Brand: doTERRA has always recommended the internal use of certain essential oils. In fact, when discussing lemon oil specifically, doTERRA writes:
“As a versatile oil, lemon also has the ability to aid in digestion and support healthy respiratory function when taken internally.”
doTerra [17]
- Personal Experience: As I mentioned in the blog, I’ve been ingesting lemon essential oil consistently for the last six years and have seen improvement in both my digestion and lymphatic system.
- FDA Recognized: While I wouldn’t say that the FDA encourages the consumption of essential oils, it has published a list of essential oils that fall under the category of “Foods for Human Consumption – Substances Generally Recognized as Safe.” Lemon made the list! [18]
With that said, when ingesting essential oils, moderation is key. We would suggest starting will a small dosage and then staying with a small dosage. We also recommend diluting essential oils when ingesting.
If taking an oil in a veggie capsule, Chris and I will often dilute the essential oils with MCT oil. Otherwise, we will simply add them to a glass of water.
If you have any questions about lemon oil or would like help purchasing a bottle, please do not hesitate to message us – we always look forward to hearing from you!
*Generic Disclaimer: Chris and I are not medical professionals – if you have any pressing medical concerns, please consult your doctor.
