15 Reasons Why You Should Grab an Orange Juice
Orange juice is probably the most famous and widely consumed breakfast beverage in Canada and indeed worldwide. Freshly squeezed orange juice is a drink that is a concentrated source of a lot of needed nutrients like vitamin C, potassium, antioxidants, folate and some enzymes. Drinking fresh orange juice benefits an individual in a lot of ways like improving cognitive health, heart health, and immune function. These are just some of the 15 reasons why you should grab an orange juice.
Drinking orange juice can also prevent the development of kidney stones and is beneficial to the skin because of the collagen that it provides. It is important to also note that all these benefits are provided by drinking freshly squeezed orange juice that is hand squeezed or gotten from a vending machine source. Bottled commercial orange juice that is gotten from stores contains minimal amounts of real orange juice, with lots of additives like sugars, flavouring and preservatives which may not be so beneficial to the drinker.
Reasons that an individual should drink fresh orange juice
There are a lot of reasons that an individual should drink Jusfres orange juice. Here are 15 reasons to drink fresh orange juice:
- Weight loss – Fresh orange juice has very low calories, and is very high in nutritional content. This is why it is always a great addition to any weight loss diet.
- Electrolyte replacement – This is a very good reason to drink orange juice, especially during or after an exercise. Fresh orange juice can hydrate an individual and replace any lost electrolytes.
- Collagen – Due to its collagen content, fresh orange juice can promote healthy and fresh-looking skin for its drinker
- Digestion – Fresh orange juice is beneficial in digestion because of the enzymes that it contains that aid the digestion process. It also contains enzymes that enhance the ability of the body to absorb more nutrients.
- Reducing inflammation – This is due to its anti-inflammatory components.
- Energy provision – Fresh orange juice can provide energy due to its natural sugar content. It can provide a quick and natural energy boost through glucose, without the crash that is noticed from consuming other sports drinks.
- Prevention of kidney stone formation – These are hard, stone-like materials that are formed in an individual due to high amounts of certain salts or minerals in their urine. Kidney stones can be formed in different sizes; they can be very small like a grain of sand, or as large as a pea. Large stones that cannot be passed through urine can cause an enormous amount of pain and discomfort. Orange juice can increase the levels of urinary citrate, which in turn increases the pH of urine. This can help in the prevention of the formation of these stones(1).
- Immune function support – For an individual, having a healthy immune system is very vital for their survival. This is because a strong immune system is active in preventing a variety of diseases like cancer, gastrointestinal issues, respiratory issues, and other ailments that are caused by viruses, bacteria, and fungi. A glass of orange juice can give an individual all the vitamin C requirements that the body requires in a day, as well as folate and other beneficial nutrients. These nutrients are crucial in supporting the health of a variety of immune cells. A deficiency of vitamin C has been linked to impaired immune function and a highly increased risk of development of an infection.
- Cognitive health protection – Cognitive health is the ability to learn, remember, and think clearly. It is very important for a healthy ageing process. Research has shown that a higher intake of foods that are rich in flavonoids like oranges has been associated with a decrease in the odds of self-perceived cognitive decline.
- Improvement of heart health – Fresh orange juice consumption has been found by researchers to improve blood pressure and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. While the exact way that orange juice promotes heart health is not very clear, researchers believe that hesperidin, a naturally occurring flavonoid in orange juice is the active ingredient in the lowering of blood pressure.
- Antioxidants – Fresh orange juice is very rich in antioxidants, like carotenoids, flavonoids and vitamin C. These antioxidants are chemicals that neutralize free radicals in the body, thus preventing them from damaging the cells and the DNA. These free radicals are very reactive chemicals that form naturally in the body in high concentrations. They can also damage cells and the DNA if they are not mitigated. The damage that they do can lead to cancer and other chronic health conditions.
- Helps in the absorption of iron – Citrus fruits are very essential for the normal functioning of the body as it helps in the absorption of iron. Anemic patients have always been recommended to take citrus fruits. Anaemia is a condition where the body lacks an adequate amount of mineral iron that is essential for its normal functioning. Orange juice, while not having any iron, is essential in the absorption of iron.
13. Beneficial to eye health – This is because fresh orange juice is a rich source of carotenoids. The vitamin A that is present in them play an important role in keeping the mucus membranes in the eyes healthy. Vitamin A is also beneficial in preventing age-related macular degeneration, which can lead to blindness in extreme cases. It also helps in light absorption by the eye.
14. Helps in the control of blood sugar levels – The fibre in oranges helps by keeping blood sugar levels in control, thereby making the fruit a healthy snack for people with diabetes. Fresh orange juice has simple sugars like fructose that can help keep the blood sugar level from rising too high after meals.
15. Oranges, like most other citrus fruits, produce more juice when they are warmer. This is why it is important to juice them when they are at room temperature. Rolling the oranges under the palm on a flat surface will also help in the extraction of more juice. Vitamin C gets destroyed quickly on exposure to air, so it is important to eat an orange quickly after it has been cut up.
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