Limes Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits

Limes, with their bright green skin and refreshingly tart flavor, are a staple in cuisines worldwide and offer a range of health benefits due to their high levels of vitamin C and antioxidants.
Jyothi Shenoy, MD, MBA

Written by Jyothi Shenoy, MD, MBA. Updated on December 23, 2022.

Lime is a citrus fruit smaller than a lemon, seedless, green, and sour.

It comes in many varieties and can be used to accentuate the flavor of certain foods or drinks, with a more aromatic flavor than lemon.

It is a multifunctional fruit that you can use in various desserts and cakes, in making beautiful sauces for your meals, or when you are looking for a refreshing drink in summer.

Lime has a high vitamin C content and is a very good source of antioxidants. It helps to prevent the occurrence of many diseases by protecting cells against free radicals.

In addition to its positive effects on making the skin look beautiful and bright, it strengthens the immune system and helps protect against infections.

Thanks to its citric acid content, it can prevent the formation of kidney stones.

Flavoring your iron-rich quinoa salad with lime will help you increase the absorption of iron in the body and improve its flavor.

If needed, limes can be frozen but they will probably lose some nutrients along the freezing process.

Limes Quick Nutrition Facts

Here's a quick nutrition overview for 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of limes:

  • Energy: 30 calories
  • Carbs: 10.5 grams
  • Sugar: 1.69 grams
  • Fiber: 2.8 grams
  • Protein: 0.7 grams
  • Fat: 0.2 grams
  • Saturated Fat: 0.022 grams

Jump to a section where you can learn more about limes nutrition value, including macronutrients, vitamins, minerals, protein quality, and more.

Health Benefits of Limes

Thanks to a significant amount of specific vitamins and minerals, limes could provide several health benefits.

Continue reading to discover the potential benefits of consuming limes.

They May Boost the Iron Absorption

Vitamin C is essential for several critical metabolic processes occurring in the body.

It can support the process of iron absorption and play a role in infection-fighting by stimulating the activities of immune cells like lymphocytes.

Vitamin C also supports the formation of collagen in the skin and other tissues.

Collagen is a protein that forms the basic structural network of several organs in the body. The primary role of collagen is to strengthen the bones, skin, and blood vessels, thus maintaining the structural integrity of these tissues.

It can reduce or slow down the age-related degenerative changes occurring in these tissues.

Vitamin C can also help in the healing of wounds.

The deficiency of this nutrient can prevent the efficient healing of the damaged tissues, due to which the patient may suffer from chronic inflammatory damage that can lead to cancerous changes.

It can act as an antioxidant. It regulates the metabolism of oxygen in the body and reduces the release of molecular compounds known as free radicals, which can otherwise damage the cell membranes.

Vitamin C is also needed for the production of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.

Limes Nutrition Facts

Continue reading to find out the following limes nutrition information:

  • Macronutrients
  • Vitamin Content
  • Mineral Content
  • Amino Acid Profile
  • Fat Breakdown
  • Carbohydrate Breakdown

Macronutrients

Macronutrients, often called macros, are most commonly used term when it comes to eating a healthy diet or losing weight. There are three types of macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

Macronutrients provide energy to your body and allows it to function properly. The following table contains the information on limes macronutrients, while reading further will give you a better understanding on each of these macronutrients.

Carbohydrate4% DV10.5 g
Protein1% DV0.7 g
Fat0% DV0.2 g

Vitamin Content

Limes are excellent source of Vitamin C.

They also contain Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) in a small amount.

Here's the full limes vitamin content per 100g:

Vitamin A2% DV50 IU
Vitamin C32% DV29.1 mg
Vitamin D0% DV0 µg
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)3% DV0.03 mg
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)2% DV0.02 mg
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)1% DV0.2 mg
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid)4% DV0.217 mg
Vitamin B6 (Pyroxidine)3% DV0.043 mg
Vitamin B9 (Folate)2% DV8 µg
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)0% DV0 µg
Vitamin E1% DV0.22 mg
Vitamin K1% DV0.6 µg

Mineral Content

Limes are not an excellent source of any particular vitamin.

However, they contain Copper in a small amount.

Here's the full limes mineral content per 100g:

Calcium3% DV33 mg
Copper7% DV0.065 mg
Fluoride0% DV0 mg
Iron3% DV0.6 mg
Magnesium1% DV6 mg
Manganese0% DV0.008 mg
Phosphorus1% DV18 mg
Potassium2% DV102 mg
Selenium1% DV0.4 μg
Sodium0% DV2 mg
Zinc1% DV0.11 mg

Protein and Amino Acid Profile

Limes contain 0.7 g of protein per 100 g, or in other words, limes provide 2.33 g of protein per 100 kcal.

Similarly to most other plant proteins, protein in limes contain all nine essential amino acids, however, they are a little bit low in histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

Histidine Low0% DV0 g
Isoleucine Low0% DV0 g
Leucine Low0% DV0 g
Lysine Low1% DV0.014 g
Methionine Low0% DV0.002 g
Phenylalanine Low0% DV0 g
Threonine Low0% DV0 g
Tryptophan Low1% DV0.003 g
Valine Low0% DV0 g

Fat Breakdown

Around 6% of the calories in limes are from fat. Limes have 0.2 grams or 0% of recommended daily values per 100g.

Saturated fat and trans fat can increase cholesterol levels and increase the heart disease risk.

Limes fat content mostly consists of healthy unsaturated fats.

According to FDA, dietary cholesterol should be kept below 300 mg per day. Luckily, limes is cholesterol free.

Limes do not contain trans fats. Trans fats should be kept as low as possible.

Total Fat0% DV0.2 g
Saturated Fat0% DV0.022 g
Monounsaturated Fatdo not have a %DV0.019 g
Polyunsaturated Fatdo not have a %DV0.055 g
Trans Fatsdo not have a %DV0 g
Cholesterol0% DV0 mg

Carbohydrate Breakdown

140% of the calories in limes come from carbohydrates.

Carbs in limes are mostly starch (57%), followed by fiber and sugars.

When it comes to sugars, limes are relatively low in sugar, containing grams of sugar per 100g.

Total Carbohydrate4% DV10.5 g
Dietary Fiber10% DV2.8 g
Sugars3% DV1.69 g

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Sources

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