ORANGE, WHAT IS IN IT?

At first I was angry at the vendors along the streets’ walk-way as I walked home last night. 

There were cluster of people at every vendor’s table, and then I took a closer look. 

I noticed that majority of the people were buying oranges. 

Orange is one of the most favorite fruit on the world. Juicy, sweet, and famous for its concentration of vitamin C. I can still remember a kindergarten rhyme on orange and its powerful vitamin C content that protects our body against dangerous elements. Oranges are one of the most popular fruits in the world with one of its different varieties available in every season.

Some of the health benefits you can derive from eating oranges include healing from cough and cold, relieve from asthma, lowered cholesterol and stabilized blood sugar or even preventing diabetes, prevent kidney stones, pneumonia and bronchitis. If you are struggling in dealing with alcohol addiction, try orange juice and reduce your desire for alcohol.

Nutritional Contents of Orange:

      1.      Beta carotene- a powerful antioxidant that protects your cells from being damaged

      2.      Calcium –for the protection and maintenance of your bones and teeth.

      3.      Magnesium- helping to maintain your blood pressure

      4.      Folic acid- for proper brain development

      5.      Vitamin B6- helps to support the production of hemoglobin that carries oxygen to  all parts of your body.

     6.      Potassium- help in maintaining electrolyte balance in your body cells and keeping your heart healthy

     7.      Thiamin- help to convert the food you eat to energy.

     8.      Dietary fiber- help to keep your colon healthy

Tips for Preparing Oranges:

* Oranges can be eaten as a snack-just peel and enjoy. 

*Before cutting the orange in half horizontally through the center, wash the skin so that any dirt or bacteria residing on the surface will not be transferred to the fruit. Proceed to cut the sections into halves or thirds, depending upon your personal preference. 

*Thin-skinned oranges can be easily peeled with your fingers. For easy peeling of the thicker skinned varieties, first cut a small section of the peel from the top of the orange. You can then either make four longitudinal cuts from top to bottom and peel away these sections of skin, or starting at the top, peel the orange in a spiral fashion. 

*Juicing. Like most citrus fruits, orange will produce more juice when warmer; always juice your oranges when they are at room temperature. Rolling the orange under the palm of your hand on a flat surface will also help to extract more juice. 

*The juice can be extracted in a variety of ways. You could either use a juicer or do it the old fashioned way, squeezing by hand. 

As for me, I stopped at one of the vendors’ table and bought some oranges, because no day is complete without an orange or at least a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice before breakfast.

Sources for this article include: 

Cho E, Seddon JM, Rosner B, Willett WC, Hankinson SE. Prospective study of intake of fruits, vegetables, vitamins, and carotenoids and risk of age-related maculopathy. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004 Jun;122(6):883-92. 2004. PMID:15197064.