Lemon and lime are two important members of the citrus family. While lemon is oval shaped and bigger in size, lime is usually round and small.
Because both of them contain similar components and are very much alike in the benefits they offer, people tend to ask which is better between the two.
Today we try to weigh the options, using factors like nutritional content, side effects, size, flavour, and cost. By the time we are done, you should have enough on both fruits to be able to decide for yourself.
Nutritional content
Vitamin C is highly needed by the body to help fortify us against diseases and strengthen our immune system. And, looking at both fruits, lemons contain about 53mg of Vit C per 100g to lime’s 29mg. This means that you probably stand a higher chance of helping your body ward off sicknesses by eating more lemons than limes.
Lemon also contains higher magnesium, potassium, and folate which are also integral to healthy living. However, whatever lime lacks due to its relatively lower vitamin C content, it seems to make up with higher Vit A content.
While lemon has 22 IU of Vit A per 100g, lime contains 50 IU Vit A per 100g.
Lime also has higher calcium content, which means you might stand a slightly higher chance of improving your bone health with more lime intake.
Taste
Many people tend to prefer the taste of lemon to that of lime. And that is quite understandable because lemon has a less harsh taste than lime. Even though both of them leave a tart taste on the tongue, lime is a lot sharper.
Lemon also, even with its sour taste, still tastes sweeter than lime – according to many people who use both. This probably owes to the fact that lime has a bitter taste which masks its sweetness.
Indeed, lime has a combination of three tastes – sweet, sour, and bitter, and even with these combined flavours, each taste still stands out distinctively on the tongue.
Size
Lime is naturally smaller than lemon in size and they are two different fruits. While lime is usually sized around 1-2 inches (4 -6 centimeters) diameters, lemon on the other hand is about 3-5 inches (7 -12 centimeters) in diameter. Except for a few species of genetically modified lime that now looks significantly bigger, lemon is still generally known to be bigger.
The implication of this is that, since lemon is bigger in size, you automatically get more fluid content from it. While you might just need to add a little squeeze of lemon to make a mixture, you might have to juice a whole lime to achieve the same.
Also, since lemon contains about double the amount of Vit C content of lime, you might have to use more lime to achieve the result you would get from lemon.
Side effects
While lemon and lime have the potential to do your body a world of good, they can also harm the body if abused. Both fruits tend to cause GERD – Gastroesophageal Reflux, but since lemon has a higher citric acid content, you might stand a greater risk with lemon than lime.
The high acid content in both fruits can also cause tooth damage as they can dissolve teeth enamel, causing decay. Other possible health risks associated with taking lemon and lime are canker sores, gastrointestinal ulcers, frequent urination, and migraine.
Cost
Finally, using price as a factor for comparison, lemon is more expensive than lime. And it’s safe to say that this is not just restricted to our local context here or this part of the world as, even on international sales platforms, lemon is more expensive.
While you can get about 4-5 lime fruits for N100, a single lemon fruit can cost about N200 in the open market.
Conclusion
As much as lemon and lime are similar in look and content, they are two distinct fruits that have immense health benefits. The ball is now in your court!
