"You can put a lemon through the juicer without peeling it?” Eve says as her almond-shaped eyes widen.

I look at her shocked. “You don’t peel your lemons before you juice them, do you? Because I don’t have that much patience.”

“Of course I do! I thought there was something toxic about the peels or something…” Her voice trails off as her lips twist in thought.

“According to my raw cookbooks you can juice a whole lemon with the peel,” I say. “At least that’s how I always do it and it tastes amazing. The peel actually makes the juice taste more ‘lemony’. I know you have to peel oranges and grapefruits before juicing because some people are allergic to the skins, but I think whole lemons and limes are okay. Of course, there is only one way to know for sure…”

I open my cabinet and get The Complete Book of Juicing: Your Delicious Guide to Youthful Vitality and look up citrus fruits. It ends up Eve and I were both half-right.

1. NEVER JUICE THE RIND OF AN ORANGE OR A GRAPEFRUIT
According to Dr. Murray, citrus peels contain some oils that can interfere with body functions. In order to avoid a toxic reaction, never juice the peel of an orange or a grapefruit. Always peel the fruit first and then feed the segments through a juicer. (Or, just save time and buy a citrus juicer!)

2. NEVER JUICE MORE THAN HALF A LEMON OR LIME WITH PEEL
To minimize the citrus oils and keep them at a healthy level, never juice more than half a whole lemon or lime. If you juice half a lemon and desire more lemon taste in your juice, simply peel the other half of lemon and feed it through the juicer without rind.

3. JUICING LEMONS AND LIMES HAS MANY HEALTH BENEFITS
Lemons and limes are rich in Vitamin C, Potassium, and Limonene. Dr. Murray writes that limonene has been shown to eliminate gallstones and has “promising” anticancer properties.

After reading all about citrus, Eve and I were pretty thirsty for some juice. I offered to help her peel half of a lemon and a lime, and look what we made without sugar and full of vitamins and enzymes:

NO-SUGAR-ADDED LEMONADE RECIPE

Juice 4 apples and 1/4 lemon with peel and serve over ice.

NO-SUGAR-ADDED LIMEADE RECIPE

Because I like a real lime taste, we used a whole lime half-peeled in this recipe. You can substitute just a half lime with peel and the recipe still turns out delicious.

Juice 4 apples and one lime (half-peeled) and serve over ice.