HWN Suggests

Citrus, The Superfood

Which came first… the color or the fruit? It was actually the fruit! The use of orange as a color didn’t crop up until several hundred years later. The orange fruit is believed to originate from Asia, first cultivated by the Chinese. Now they are eaten around the world and are the most popular citrus fruits in America. Why? Citrus fruits are considered superfoods! This means that they included in a special category of foods that are calorie sparse and nutrient dense. They pack a lot of health punch!

read full article

Articles of Interest

Americans No Longer Want Any of Your Filthy Orange Juice

Why aren’t Americans showing the love to oranges and orange juice? The researchers don’t speculate, but we can guess that media reports—including our own—that brought to light the ungodly amount of sugar found in bottled juice may be playing a role. Eight ounces of orange juice has 24 grams of sugar. That’s six teaspoons of sugar.

An Orange a Day? It's Great for You, Too

An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but does that apply to any type of fruit? After the recommendation of her fitness instructor to have an orange a day (whole, not in juice form) at breakfast, my friend experienced greater digestive and abdominal well-being among other things. And yes, she has also improved her relationship with fruits in general, if you're someone who struggles with them too, start with oranges.

Are Citrus Fruit Acids Healthy or Harmful?

Citrus fruits consist of "nature-made" acids that are highly beneficial to your health and your ability to resist disease. This is because the acids in citrus fruits - known as "citric acid" - actually helps to alkalise the body, by breaking down food molecules to release energy, supporting healthy digestion and boosting your body's ability to help fight off infections and dis-ease.

Are citrus fruits truly good for you?

Citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruits and lemons are more than just a winter staple — they are packed with essential nutrients that promote better health.

Bioactive Compounds of Citrus Fruits: A Review of Composition and Health Benefits of Carotenoids, Flavonoids, Limonoids, and Terpenes

Citrus fruits are a rich and exceptional source of bioactive flavonoids, especially polymethoxylated flavones (PMFs), including nobiletin, tangeritin, and 5-demethyl nobiletin. Moreover, citrus fruits are a dense source of bioactive xanthophylls (e.g., violaxanthin esters), provitamin A carotenoids (e.g., β-cryptoxanthin), and apocarotenoids (e.g., β-citraurin). These bioactive compounds reduce the inflammatory mediators and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the body, thus minimizing the risk of metabolic syndrome, including neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and cancer.

Brussels sprouts have as much vitamin C as oranges – and plenty of other health benefits

Pound for pound, you’ll get more vitamin C from them when eaten raw than from oranges. Cooked brussels sprouts still contain vitamin C, though – about the same pound for pound as you’d get from orange juice and raw oranges.

Citrus Fruits and their Countless Benefits

Citrus fruits bring with them benefits like no other. Their vibrant colors and juicy segments make them very alluring, but this magnetic pull reveals deeper layers that could help us achieve exactly what we’re looking for – healthier eating through delicious mediums, and a well-balanced diet.

Citrus fruits as a treasure trove of active natural metabolites that potentially provide benefits for human health

Citrus fruits, which are cultivated worldwide, have been recognized as some of the most high-consumption fruits in terms of energy, nutrients and health supplements. What is more, a number of these fruits have been used as traditional medicinal herbs to cure diseases in several Asian countries. Numerous studies have focused on Citrus secondary metabolites as well as bioactivities and have been intended to develop new chemotherapeutic or complementary medicine in recent decades.

Cocktail of pesticides in almost all oranges and grapes, UK study finds

Traces of 122 different pesticides in 12 most polluted fruit and veg products, many with links to cancer.

Fruit of the month: Citrus fruits

Like all the fruits we’ve featured this year, citrus fruits contain heart-healthy nutrients such as fiber and flavonoids. That’s a good reason to enjoy oranges, mandarin oranges, tangerines, or tangelos as snacks or in meals on a regular basis. Other fruits in this group have additional properties relevant to people who have or are at risk for heart disease.

Healthy Eating: The Latest News on How Oranges + Grapefruit Do a Body Good

According to the latest research, you can reduce your risk of having a stroke later in life by as much as 19 percent by eating oranges and/or grapefruit daily. The researchers say that oranges and grapefruit contain flavanones, a subgroup of the antioxidants called flavanoids, that may protect your body from stroke and other health conditions.

How Healthy Is Citrus Fruit?

Its immune-boosting vitamin C is only part of the story. Citrus fruits are famous for their high vitamin C content — and for good reason. One navel orange contains 83 milligrams of vitamin C and one half of a red grapefruit contains about 46. Both can go a long way in helping you meet the 75 to 90 milligrams recommended daily.

How the British defeated Napoleon with citrus fruit

We now know that scurvy is caused by lack of vitamin C or ascorbic acid, present in large amounts in citrus fruit. In the Napoleonic wars, all British sailors were issued with lemon juice or other fruit. In 1804, 50,000 gallons were purchased by the Royal Navy. The effect was remarkable. In 1809, the Naval Hospital, at Haslar near Portsmouth, did not see a single case of scurvy. Lind’s controlled trial was essential for the defeat of Napoleon. Without it, the blockade could not have been sustained, Napoleon’s fleet could have disrupted British trade, and, more importantly, allowed the emperor to invade Britain.

Is Orange Juice Good for You?

We may have to burst your brunch bubble.

It took centuries (and vitamins) for doctors to finally stop scurvy

Vitamins were the missing link in nutritional science until the 20th century. A new book on atoms traces this knowledge gap back to the world's greatest navies and scurvy.

On Meds? You May Be Able to Eat Grapefruit Again Someday.

Scientists have identified a gene that causes production of a substance in some citrus that interferes with many medications.

Power Up with Citrus

Citrus fruits’ most well known component is vitamin C, one of the most widely consumed nutritional supplements in the U.S. Yet studies show that vitamin C in supplemental pill form does not have the same antioxidant effects as fresh citrus fruit or juice, likely due to complex interactions with the many other antioxidants available in citrus, as shown in a 2007 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

The Citrus Family Tree

Citrus, in many ways, stands alone. So many cultivated species have come from so few primary ancestors. Just three, in fact: citrons, pomelos, and mandarins, all native to South and East Asia before they started their journeys west, to places like Florida, California, and Brazil that built entire economies around fruits from the other side of the world. Such simple lineage is the result of impressive commonality. Almost all citrus has the rare genetic combination of being sexually compatible and highly prone to mutation.

The Exotic History of Citrus

People have known for millennia some of the healthy benefits of citrus fruit. Citrus medica, for example, more commonly called the citron, has been extolled for its associations with Buddhism, as seen in the above nephrite jade Buddha’s hand citron, albeit fairly modern, since it literally brought health and wellbeing.

The Health Benefits of Lemons Are Far from Sour

Pucker up, lemon lovers! Beyond their mood-boosting yellow hue and sour flavor, lemons are teeming with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and more. They can also be used in myriad delicious ways — not just as a seasoning or garnish. Ahead, lemon nutrition facts, the health benefits of lemons, and creative ways to eat them.

The Health Benefits of Oranges Go Well Beyond Vitamin C

If the word “orange” were to pop up during a game of Catch Phrase, there’s a hard chance the first clue you’d scream to your teammates after “round fruit” is “vitamin C.” And while this definitive, good-for-you quality of all navels, cara caras, and valencias (all different varieties of oranges, BTW) would definitely score you the winning point, it’s not the only health benefit of oranges

The Powerful Health Benefits of Citrus Fruits

Add some extra sunshine and warmth to your diet by eating more citrus fruits! Bright, colorful, fragrant, refreshing, and juicy, citrus fruits are not only delicious for their balanced tart and sweet taste, they are also an essential part of everyday nutrition, packing powerful health benefits beneath that tough, leathery rind. Citrus fruits are rich in multiple nutrients such as vitamin C, flavonoids, and fiber which confer vascular protection, reduce inflammation, improve gastrointestinal function and health, and play an important role in preventing conditions like diabetes, cancer, neurological disease.

The World of Citrus: 6 Fun and Nutritious Facts

Beyond their refreshing taste, these fruits contribute to overall well-being, supporting immune function, skin health, and more. Incorporating the delightful world of citrus into our diet couldn’t be easier. Peel an orange, grapefruit, or tangerine and eat them whole.

What Makes Citrus So Healthy? Hint: It’s More than Just Vitamin C!

These delicious fruits have been enjoyed since ancient times. People of ancient civilizations used citrus fruits for food, medicine, and even used them as status symbols. As citrus cultivation gradually spread to the Mediterranean and Europe, royal families and other elites often cultivated groves of oranges or other fruits for decor.

What Really Happens If You Eat Grapefruit With Your Medication?

Sure, starting off your day with a halved grapefruit or a glass of its tart juice can be a healthy choice—lots of vitamin C and potassium—but if you take certain drugs, it might actually be just the opposite.

Why oranges are good for you

They contain prodigious amounts of vitamin C, which protects the immune system and disarms free radicals that cause cell damage. Their abundant folate reduces levels of homocysteine, the cardiovascular risk factor, which can build up in our blood, while their store of potassium helps lower blood pressure. It's best to eat them whole: the papery pith contains valuable plant compounds (hesperidin, naringenin, limonene) that add to their antioxidant properties, along with soluble fibre, which slows down the absorption of fruit sugar in the bloodstream.

Resources

4 Smart Reasons to Start Your Day With Citrus

Do you make a point of having citrus in the morning? I'm not talking about OJ, which is fine and dandy, but let's get fresher. Four reasons why citrus for breakfast is a smart way to start the day...