Lemon oil is indeed one of the most “essential” oils to have on hand, as it can used for so many purposes, from a natural teeth whitener, household cleaner and laundry freshener, to a mood booster and nausea reliever. You are covering a lot of ground with this one bottle of essential oils!

If you are looking for a way to get rid of nausea, especially if you are pregnant and experiencing morning sickness, lemon essential oil serves as a natural and effective remedy.

A 2014 double-blind, randomized and controlled critical trial investigated the effect of lemon inhalation on nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. One-hundred pregnant women with nausea and vomiting were divided into intervention and control groups, with the intervention group participants inhaling lemon essential oil as soon as they felt nauseous.

Researchers found that there was a statistically significant difference between the control and intervention groups in the mean scores of nausea and vomiting, with the lemon oil group having much lower scores. This suggests that lemon essential oil can be used as a tool for reducing nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

Lemon essential oil can help to soothe digestive problems, including issues like gastritis and constipation.

A 2009 animal study published in Chemical and Biological Interactions found that when lemon essential oil was given to rats, it reduced gastritis symptoms by reducing the erosion of gastric mucosa (the lining of your stomach) and working as a gastro-protective agent against stomach legions.

And a 10-day randomized control study sought to verify the efficacy of lemon, rosemary and peppermint essential oils on constipation in the elderly. Researchers found that those in the aromatherapy group, who received an abdominal massage using the essential oils, had significantly lower constipation assessment scores than those in the control group. They also found that the number of bowel movements were higher in the experimental group. The natural constipation relief among participants in the essential oil group lasted two weeks after treatment.

Lemon essential oil benefits your skin by reducing acne, nourishing damaged skin and hydrating the skin. Lab studies show that lemon oil is able to reduce cell and tissue damage in the skin that’s caused by free radicals. This is due to lemon oil’s strong antioxidant activity and anti-aging effects.

According to a scientific review published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, lemon essential oil is also effective against skin issues like blisters, insect bites, greasy and oily conditions, cuts, wounds, cellulite, rosacea, and viral infections of the skin like cold sores and warts. This is because of lemon oil’s antimicrobial compounds that work to treat dermatological conditions naturally.

Did you know that lemon essential oil may be able to promote the breakdown of body fat? Like grapefruit oil, one of the best essential oils for weight loss, lemon also contains d-limonene, which is known to help support your metabolism and cleanse your lymphatic glands, which can help with weight loss.

An animal study published in the Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition found that when mice were supplemented with lemon polyphenols that were extracted from lemon peel for a 12-week period, their body weight gain, fat pad accumulation, and development of hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia and insulin resistance were significantly suppressed.

Lemon oil has a purifying, cleansing and protective effect on the body. It helps to defend the body against harmful pathogens and promotes detoxification through the blood and liver. Lemon oil also stimulates lymphatic drainage, which helps the body to cleanse itself of wastes and toxins.

A 2016 animal study found that when lemon essential oil was given to rats that had developed aspirin-induced acute liver and kidney damage, it was able to reduce the oxidative stress and damage to both organs.

Another animal study tested the effects of lemon oil and other essential oils on the antioxidant state of organs in mice. When mice were treated with essential oils for six months, even at very low doses, they were able to reduce oxidative stress, and maintain the structural integrity and functional activity of the organs. A mixture of lemon essential oil and ginger extract had the highest antioxidant effect on the liver and brain in mice.

Being that lemon essential oil has antibacterial and antifungal properties, it works as a natural remedy for many oral conditions, including oral thrush and bad breath. It can also be used to whiten your teeth naturally and prevent tooth decay.

A randomized controlled trial including 90 HIV/AIDS patients evaluated the efficacy of lemon juice in the treatment of oral thrush. Researchers found that the use of lemon juice for oral thrush was validated by its ability to treat the condition in an HIV-positive population.

Although citrus juices are known for their ability to cause tooth erosion after long-term use because of their acidic nature, essential oils do not seem to cause the same acid erosion.

Lemon oil has antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, so it helps to boost your immune system and fight respiratory conditions. It also serves as one of the top essential oils for allergies.

It’s one of the best essential oils for coughs because it benefits the lymphatic system, which protects you from harmful pathogens and reduces swelling in your lymph nodes. Lemon essential oil also stimulates lymphatic drainage, thereby reducing the accumulation of fluids that can cause you to cough.

Studies show that lemon essential oil works as a natural antimicrobial agent because of two dominant compounds found in the oil, limonene and b-pinene. This makes lemon oil a powerful tool in cleaning and food protection.

Lemon oil can be used to cleanse your home of harmful pathogens, like bacteria, fungi and other harmful pathogens. Using lemon as a natural cleaning product also keeps your home free of conventional products that are made with dangerous chemicals.

Research also shows that lemon oil can be used to help protect our food system, too. In a study testing the preservative effects of lemon oil, researchers found that lemon inhibited the growth of bacteria growth in minced beef meat. Lemon essential oil successfully stopped the development of Listeria monocytogenes, suggesting that it plays a role in the prevention of contamination in our food sources. This is helpful for our food system because foods contaminated with bacteria like Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli have been reported to cause foodborne illnesses.

Animal studies show that limonene, a major component of lemon essential oil, has anti-tumor and chemotherapeutic effects. Oral feeding of lemon oil has resulted in significant regression of mammary carcinoma (a breast cancer), without any observable systemic toxicity.

Animal studies also show that using citrus oils containing limonene topically may also be a safe and feasible option for helping women prevent breast cancer, but more research is needed on this topic.