Lemon acid

Let's talk about citric acid today. Why about her? And because morning it happened: I wanted tea with lemon, and there were only beautiful packs with the inscription "Citric Acid" in the household. So there were questions: what is it made of and can it be added to tea without health consequences? So, citric acid: harm and benefit.

The composition of citric acid and scope

We take one such beautiful pack of citric acid, open and see a white, odorless crystalline powder. We taste - sour, mouth does not knit. Many are interested in whether citric acid is soluble in water or not? Let's figure it out.

Citric acid is a chemical substance consisting of three elements: carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). If it is heated to 175 degrees, it will disintegrate into water and carbon dioxide. Accordingly, in water, citric acid dissolves well.

The individual substance was isolated by the Swedish chemist Scheele back in 1874. A scientist extracted it from the unripe fruits of the lemon tree. In addition to these exotic fruits, acid can be found in many other plants. But with lemon content of acid can be compared except that Chinese magnolia. While the chemical industry was developing, citric acid was produced from the tobacco shag and lemon biomass. Now it is a product of synthesis from sugars and the strain of the highest mold fungus.

As we see, pure chemistry, which has nothing in common with lemons, except for a sour taste. Therefore, about any vitamins or microelements when added to tea speech can not be. But it is not all that bad. Due to its bactericidal properties and ability to regulate acidity, citric acid is widely used in the food industry and pharmaceuticals. Here it is better known as E330 additive.

You can find citric acid in many juices, confectionery. As a preservative, it is used in the manufacture of oil and fat products. For medical purposes, it is included in the composition of drugs to improve energy metabolism. The cosmetic industry does not do without this component: citric acid is contained in lotions, creams, shampoos to regulate the pH level.

Shugaring with citric acid

If we are already talking about cosmetics, let's take a closer look at such a procedure as shugaring with citric acid. Shugaring - Persian hair removal using a special composition based on sugar syrup. Why Persian? Because this sweet hair removal from the body was invented in the East by the Persian beauty queens who lived more than one hundred years ago.

Shugaring, in principle, is the same as waxing, only with less painful sensations and the skin after the procedure is more tender. There are some advantages of shugaring:

• This is a simple and inexpensive procedure that you can spend at home, without spending on trips to salons;
• shugaring absolutely excludes irritations, burns, cuts, bruises;
• sweet hair removal is almost hypoallergenic;
• There is no risk of hair ingrowth.

Shugaring procedure

Composition:

• sugar - 60 g;
• warm water - 2 tsp;
• citric acid - 16 g

Cooking:

1. Mix sugar with water in a metal dish to form a mushy consistency.
2. We put on a slow fire, stir during cooking.
3. When the mixture starts to get the color of caramel, drop a small amount of it into a container with cold water, and if the drop solidifies - the syrup is ready.
4. Add citric acid to the syrup, continuing to stir. When the mass becomes transparent amber, remove the syrup from the stove.
5. Let it cool to 20-25 degrees.

Application:

1. Take the cooled caramel in your hand and knead like clay, until it becomes matte.
2. The composition is applied to the surface of the skin against hair growth.
3. Sharply separates the smeared mass from the body against the growth of hair.
4. The frozen mixture can be heated by placing the dishes with caramel in boiling water.

In all this process, citric acid acts as a natural peeling, cleansing the skin and making it silky.

Citric acid: harm and benefits

Citric acid improves metabolism and affects the body in this way:

• promotes the removal of harmful salts, slags, toxic substances;
• improves digestive processes;
• strengthens the body's resistance to viruses;
• has antitumor properties;
• removes hangover syndrome, helping to cleanse the body;
• takes an active part in the saturation of cells with oxygen due to antioxidant qualities;
• stimulates cell epithelium renewal, improving skin elasticity, removing wrinkles and leveling the shade of the face.

Citric acid is also useful in weight loss diets. It reduces the carbohydrate content. Compensating for the lack of energy, the body begins to burn internal fats, and we, accordingly, lose weight. Dissolving in water, the acid is well absorbed. Its nutritional value is 1 Kcal.

Use citric acid should be moderate. Excessive amount of it in the body leads to irritation of the gastric mucosa and causes pain. It adversely affects the health of the teeth and often becomes the cause of caries.

What is replaced by citric acid?

If you have doubts about the use of citric acid, try to replace it:

• for preservation, lemon can be replaced with apple vinegar or wine vinegar, as well as cranberry or red currant juice;
• lemon juice is best for recipes;
• Acetic acid and baking soda can be used to clean scale.

As it turned out, despite its chemical origin, citric acid is a useful and widely used product, especially in cosmetology. But the tea is still better to drink with a fresh lemon slice.