Antioxidant and Anti-Cancer Benefits

• Tea and lemon both have powerful antioxidant properties. These effects arise primarily from the polyphenols in tea, while lemons contain large amounts of the antioxidant vitamin C. These antioxidants help to reduce damage to healthy cells, promote the death of unhealthy cells and help prevent cancerous cells from reproducing. The antioxidant properties of lemon in tea also give it potentially powerful anti-cancer effects. In addition, lemons contain large amounts of compounds called limonoids, which fight mouth, skin, lung, breast, stomach and colon cancers, reports the USDA.

Iron Absoprtion

• Despite their antioxidant effects, the polyphenols in tea can interfere with your body's ability to absorb non-heme iron, which is the major source of iron in plant foods. However, because vitamin C helps to boost non-heme iron absorption, adding lemon juice may help counteract the tea's effect. A tablespoon of fresh lemon juice added to tea provides about 6 milligrams of vitamin C, which is less than 10 percent of the recommended daily allowance for the vitamin.