Remember, you are what you eat (or drink…), so forget the tequila and salt. Squeeze it into a glass of water and sip it throughout the day.

The Ayurveda has regarded lemon as a valuable fruit and admired its properties. Lemon is sour, warm, a promoter of gastric fire and light, good for vision, pungent and astringent. It checks the excessive flow of bile and cleanses the mouth. It assists the upper respiratory tract with infections and expels wind from the digestive tract. It helps in digestion and removes constipation. It also prevents acidity and rheumatism.

Most importantly however, although lemon is acidic to the taste, it leaves off alkaline residues in the body, which is why it is useful in all symptoms of acidosis. One should ideally not take concentrated lemon-juice however. It should be diluted with water before taking it. Pure lemon ­juice contains acid which is harmful to the enamel of teeth. The body is well cleansed if lemon-juice mixed with cold water and honey is taken on an empty stomach early in the morning. Warm water can also be used occasionally to get relief from constipation, and especially during winter.

The most valuable ingredient of lemon, next to vitamin C, is citric acid, of which it contains 7.2 per cent. Lemon contains more potassium than apple or grapes, which is beneficial to the heart.

So next time you’re feeling a little sour or under the weather, keep good stock of those lemons!