Florida is known for more than its great weather, various beaches, and long lists of excursions. If you’re a Floridian, you know that the state is popular for its supply of citrus or, in other words, the state’s oranges in particular. There are about 27 varieties of Florida oranges that provide the country with much-needed citrus and there are health benefits that lie right within the peel that most people don’t even think about.
There are more than 600 varieties of oranges across the globe so, if you’re a senior living in Florida, you might want to take advantage of what you have right in your backyard or at your local farmer’s market because the Florida orange has more health-enhancing properties than you might have thought.
Laying Out the Benefits You Might Not Have Known
People often just think about oranges on the surface level; as a drink with breakfast or a snack after exercising. The thing is, there are a variety of health benefits that this fruit has that often go overlooked. A few of the top advantages to making this fruit a part of your daily diet are;
- Helps to prevent arthritis
- Cancer-fighting properties
- Promotes heart health
- An essential for good kidney health
These are just a few of the most notable benefits but the list is quite long. There are around 74 million citrus trees that span 569,000 acres of land throughout Florida so, if you’re a senior living in Florida, you have ample opportunities and sources to start taking advantage of these benefits. What many people also don’t realize is that oranges act as a cholagogue which is a compound that actually acts as a stimulant for the contraction of the gallbladder.
If you’re wondering, this is a good thing because it can promote the discharge of the bile system by pushing bile from the liver. Not only that, but consuming oranges will help to improve your blood circulation and they are a natural solution to help strengthen your teeth and your bones, and believe it or not, they even help regulate your blood pressure as well. Oranges also help to prevent rheumatoid arthritis and at least 1.3 million people over 60 have RA so this number could potentially decrease if more seniors were consuming oranges.
While those are great benefits that show pure value to the fruit, there is still much more that a trip to the farmer’s market could do for your overall health. If you suffer from consistent constipation, eating oranges will help to prevent constipation altogether and if you’re afraid of developing kidney stones, you should know that orange intake prevents the formation of kidney stones and even helps with digestion. The healing properties of oranges often surprise people and that’s because they tend to such a variety of issues and not just a few things.
What About the Peel?
You guessed correctly, orange peels are just as useful as the fruit inside of them. The peels have been shown to be great for your skin and they can also help to fix bad breath. Additionally, Florida seniors might like to know that orange peels are a natural way to help fight allergies and this can come in handy once on the brink of spring. The peel is a common choice to treat the common cold and the flavonoids that the peel contains are antioxidant compounds and those compounds can help to prevent heart-related diseases and cancers.
The peel contains Vitamin B6, calcium, and Provitamin A, and you might not have thought about the fact that they are also full of helpful plant compounds. What’s more is that the plant compounds found in the peel are found to help prevent and manage things like type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and other chronic conditions.
What Makes Oranges So Healthy?
Oranges offer more than boosts of vitamin C as they have a variety of additional nutrients to promote general health. Oranges consist of fiber that helps with blood sugar maintenance and you can even expect a reduction in high cholesterol instances. Just one orange will cover about 6% of what’s required for calcium intake and these are only a few things that contribute to their health factor.
Doing More for Your Wellness, Naturally
There are many things that grow naturally that have healing properties that we might not have thought of initially and the Florida orange is one of those things. Not only are oranges delicious and act as great additives to a variety of dishes and recipes, but they serve a great purpose for more than just the average dose of vitamin c and tangy citrus flavor.
If you live in Florida, you might want to consider eating more oranges and drinking more orange juice as it could benefit your health in more ways than one.
