Citrus fruits grow on trees and shrubs that bloom. They have leathery skin and a white pith that holds juicy segments inside.
They are native to Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and maybe even Southeast Asia.
Today, they are grown all over the world in tropical and subtropical climates. Spain, Brazil, China, the US, Mexico, and Pakistan are all important places for making things.
It’s interesting that juice is made from almost a third of all citrus fruits.
All year long, you can find all kinds of citrus fruits that help you to grow your hemoglobin, you can have a complete blood count test to monitor your health. Let’s discuss how citrus fruit can help you to achieve many health benefits. Give it a ride.
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Health Benefits Of Citrus Fruits
We all like oranges, lemon, and other citrus fruit and we usually use them in our drinks to get a tasty flavor. Here are a few amazing health benefits that can be surprising for you such as
They Have A Lot Of Vitamins And Plant Chemicals In Them
Citrus fruits are a great place to get vitamin C, which boosts your immune system and keeps your skin smooth and supple.
In fact, you can get all the vitamin C you need in a day from just one medium-sized orange.
One study reveals that citrus fruits also have good amounts of B vitamins, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, copper, and other vitamins and minerals that your body needs to work well.
Also, they have a lot of plant compounds that are good for your health, like anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
There are over 60 different kinds of flavonoids, carotenoids, and essential oils in these compounds. They are responsible for many of the health benefits of citrus fruit.
They Have A Lot Of Fiber
Citrus fruits have a lot of fiber in them. Four grams of fiber are in just one cup of orange segments.
To give you an idea of what that means, you should eat 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you eat. Only 4 percent of men and 13 percent of women in the US are thought to get that much.
Fiber is good for your health in many ways, like helping your digestive system and helping you lose weight.
One study reveals that oranges have a lot of soluble fiber, a type of fiber that helps lower cholesterol.
Citrus fruits are different from other fruits and vegetables because they have more soluble fiber than insoluble fiber.
They Don’t Have Many Calories
Citrus fruits are a good choice if you want to watch how many calories you eat.
Even though they are low in calories, the water and fiber in them help you feel full.
Here are how many calories the most common kinds of citrus fruits have:
- 1 small clementine: 35
- 1 medium orange: 62
- 1/2 pink grapefruit: 52
- Half of a white grapefruit: 39
- 12 ml of juice from 1 lemon.
Also, a 2015 study that looked at people’s eating habits and weight over 24 years found that eating citrus fruits was linked to weight loss.
They Might Make You Less Likely To Get Kidney Stones
Kidney stones are painful crystals of minerals.
They can form when your urine is very concentrated or when it has more minerals that can turn into stones than usual.
Low levels of citrate in the urine can cause one type of kidney stone.
Many fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits, can raise the levels of citrate in your urine, which lowers the risk of kidney stones.
Potassium citrate supplements are not the only way to get potassium. You can get it naturally by drinking citrus juices and eating citrus fruits.
They Might Help Prevent Or Fight Cancer
Many studies have shown that eating citrus fruits can lower the risk of some cancers.
In one study, people with a lower risk of lung cancer ate one grapefruit or drank one serving of grapefruit juice every day.
Other studies have shown that citrus fruits may also protect against cancers of the esophagus, stomach, breast, and pancreas.
Flavonoids are one type of plant compound found in these fruits that may help protect against cancer.
Some of these flavonoids work as antioxidants and may stop the expression of certain genes that are linked to diseases like cancer that get worse over time.
Citrus fruits may also help fight cancer by stopping tumors from growing, stopping new tumors from forming, and making carcinogens inactive.
They Have Nutrients That Are Good For Your Heart
Citrus fruits might be good for your heart if you eat them.
In fact, a Japanese study found that heart disease and stroke were less likely to happen to people who ate more of these fruits.
Also, a review from 2017 suggests that grapefruits may cause systolic blood pressure to go down.
Several of the chemicals in citrus fruits can improve heart health markers.
For example, the soluble fiber and flavonoids in them may lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and raise “good” HDL cholesterol. This may help improve cholesterol levels.
And naringin, one of the flavonoids in citrus fruits, is a strong antioxidant that helps the heart in many ways.
They Might Keep Your Brain Safe
Citrus fruits may help protect against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, which are caused by the breakdown of nerve cells.
Part of what causes these diseases is inflammation.
Flavonoids in citrus fruits have anti-inflammatory properties that may help stop the chain of events that leads to a weakening nervous system.
Studies on mice and in test tubes have shown that some flavonoids, like hesperidin and apigenin, protect brain cells and make the brain work better.
Several studies on older adults have also shown that citrus juices may improve brain function.
Things You Should Consider
In many ways, citrus fruits are good for you.
They are healthy and full of plant compounds that can protect against cancer, heart disease, brain problems, kidney stones, and other diseases.
But try to eat whole fruits instead of drinking a lot of fruit juice, since juice’s high sugar content can cause problems.
Overall, citrus fruits are good for you because they are healthy, have few calories, and are easy to eat. Most people would benefit from eating more citrus. You should discuss this with your nearest doctor and add citrus fruits to your daily diet.
