Citrus scare

Citrus has never been a big deal to me personally. Not actively anyway. It was only after a particulary painful mimosa-fuelled brunch that it dawned on me how integral that little dash of orange juice, or little squeeze of lime was to my best life. Because, for a while after discovering that citrus gave me acid indigestion, I avoided it completely. 

Vitamin C to the rescue

While I was carefully avoiding all citrus, unbeknown to me bestie was adding some lemon to every spinach nutribullet she made me because the vitamin C in citrus fruit helps with iron absorption. She is chronically iron deficient and felt the need to make sure my iron stores were topped up effectively too, as I discovered one day spying the little yellow blobs in the cup just before blasting. She confessed that she'd been popping in some antioxidant-rich blueberries too. 

I hadn't noticed the taste before and I also hadn't had any tummy ache or burping. So I re-tested my citrus sensitivity, this time with smaller portions and combined with other foods. I discovered that: 

• I'm fine with just a wedge or two, especially when combined with the more alkaline spinach and lettuce in nutribullets or salads.  
• Mimosas have a triple-whammy effect as prosecco is also acidic and literally gassy. Bottomless brunch will never be the same. 
• I sometimes have it with kefir which is mildly acidic too, but helps populate your digestive system with healthy bacteria and reduces heartburn. I find the combination doesn't always agree with me though, lending weight to the idea of 'cycle syncing' - eating according to your menstrual cycle. Learn more on the MyFlo app → we're currently trying out.