‘Add zest of a lemon’, is regularly stated in recipes. And you should do that, because it is tasty and healthy. Provided you choose the right lemon, that is. Nutrition expert Marlies Huysentruyt explains how you do this: “If you eat pesticides every day, your immune system will become exhausted.”
A little zest can instantly take your meal to the next level. Marlies Huysentruyt, known as ‘Eat good feel good Marlies’, agrees. “Including the peel of an organic lemon in your meals is a good idea, because it is packed with nutrients. Just think of vitamin C, calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, selenium, B6 and potassium. The lemon and its zest are real vitamin bombs! By the way, zest tastes a lot stronger than loose lemon pieces, which immediately explains why it is a popular seasoning in, for example, tea or ginger drinks, but also in dishes.”
The zest in that recipe is there for a reason, although you should pay attention to which lemon peel you use for this. “An ‘ordinary’ lemon zest contains many more harmful substances than an organic lemon zest. Among other things, the pesticide imasilil, which causes eye and skin irritations, is often found on sprayed lemons. Antifungal substances of this type are mainly sprayed to protect the lemons against fungi, vermin or pecking birds. Unfortunately, they penetrate deep into the skin, so it sometimes doesn’t even matter if you wash the lemon beforehand, you still get the substances in.”
“But even with organic lemons, it is best to wash the peel with cold or warm water,” warns Marlies. “There may be no pesticides in it, but there may be dirt on the surface that is not good for your body either.”
What happens when you eat the peel of an ordinary lemon?
In the kitchen, according to the nutrition expert, you should therefore preferably only use lemons with an organic label – after you have washed them. Then you can be sure that you will not ingest any toxic substances. “Of course it takes more effort to grow lemons in an organic way, because the soil must be in perfect condition, among other things. As a result, they are a bit more expensive, but the quality you get in return compensates for the price tag,” says the nutrition expert.
Eating lemon zest with pesticides once is not a disaster, but if you eat it every day, your immune system will be less able to protect you against all kinds of viruses or diseases.
Still, both you and I have no doubt eaten the peel of a non-organic lemon, whether by accident or not. What does that do to our body? “Then you naturally ingest pesticides,” Marlies explains. “Eating contaminated zest once is not a disaster, but if you really eat it every day, it ensures that your immune system becomes exhausted and that it protects you less well against all kinds of viruses or diseases. When your intestinal flora does not function optimally, your intestinal wall will absorb the toxic substances faster into your bloodstream. Your blood even gets a little poisoned as a result. Your immune system responds by sending out chemicals to immediately remove these pesticides from your bloodstream, which requires a lot of energy.” A lemon lover forewarned is worth two.
You know which lemon (peel) you use best, but do you also know how to get the most out of the seasoning? “Lemon zest is not only delicious in drinks such as tea, but also on baked salmon or even in a cake, for example, bio zest gives an extra flavor boost,” says Marlies. “Especially with that last sweet sin, it is a welcome alternative to the often used lemon juice. Adding juice to cakes can sometimes make the cake batter too runny, which can affect the structure of your cake. To make the lemon taste strong enough, I always recommend zest.”
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