Oranges are rich in antioxidants, which ward off free radicals

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An orange a day very well may keep the doctor away

Did you know that navel oranges got their navel because of the belly button configuration that is located at the opposite end of the stem? The larger the navel is, the sweeter the orange will be.

There is a lot that most of us do not know about oranges. We only know that we like them. The orange has a long and interesting history. This is one versatile citrus fruit.

Oranges can be used to clean up grease stains; at one point it was considered the fruit of gods and was called the golden apple, which Hercules swiped. The smell and taste of an orange is going to differ depending on where it was grown and its position on the orange tree. In some cultures it was believed that a woman touching an orange tree was the absolutely worst thing imaginable, causing the tree to wilt and drop its fruit.

Something else that you probably did not know about oranges: If an orange turns green this indicates that hot weather has caused the skin of the orange to re-green or re-absorb chlorophyll, which is what turns the skin green. Do not worry about the green skin. The orange will still be very tasty.

Oranges have long been a cherished gift item. For generations, children rejoiced upon finding an orange in their Christmas stocking. Thousands of tourists to sunny Florida send little wooden crates of fresh Florida oranges home to the chilly Midwest. Oranges always take a prominent place in gift fruit baskets, with their cheery coloring and easy, peel and enjoy "packaging."

Orange is a highly desired flavor. World-wide, it comes in third behind chocolate and vanilla. Not only is an orange delicious and refreshing but it is good for you. Oranges are full of antioxidants, which ward off free radicals, which are damaging to your health. Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules that are in our body. They cause disease and aging. Antioxidants neutralize them.

Oranges are considered the best fruit when it comes to warding off or treating disease because of the vitamin C, potassium, phosphorus, beta-carotene, citrus acid, compounds of alcohol ENE group and aldehyde that oranges contain. Good cholesterol levels rise when an individual consistently drinks orange juice. If you are taking medication, drink orange juice afterward because this improves the absorption ability of the body.

All of us need calcium, particularly women and pregnant women. The calcium in an orange is better absorbed by your body than milk, so increase your orange intake for healthy, strong bones. Eight ounces of fortified orange juice contain 350 mg of calcium, of which 37 percent is absorbed into your body and bones. An eight-ounce class of milk has 291 mg of calcium, of which 31 percent is absorbed. If you eat just one orange a day, this will provide you with approximately two-thirds of your daily calcium requirement.

Because oranges are acidic they are detoxifying. Our bodies naturally detoxify themselves if everything is going according to plan, especially when we are sleeping. It is imperative that our bodies get rid of toxic elements that get into our bodies via pollution, nutrition and stimulants. Eating oranges helps expedite this process.

As most of us already know, an orange is a round, thick skinned fruit. The orange is believed to have originated in Indo-China or southern China. It comes in several varieties including a mandarin orange, which is a small fruit with loose skin. 

When the mandarin was crossed with an orange by Pierre Clement, a clergyman, this produced a clementine, which is a seedless mandarin. And then there is the tangelo, which is a cross between an orange, a grapefruit and a tangerine. One variety of tangelos are Honeybells, which are the size of a grapefruit, exceptionally juicy and available in January. If you come upon an orange that is called a blood orange it will have a bright red pulp.

After you eat an orange, brush your teeth because the acid from an orange can be damaging to your teeth. Do not consume too many oranges because large amounts of citrus fruit can be carcinogenic. There is a term for over-consumption of citrus fruits: Citrus fruit sickness or hyperlipidemia. If you are suffering from this condition, your limbs will become yellow in color and you can suffer from sleepiness, nausea and vomiting and become very fidgety and agitated.

Resources:

LearningInfo.org: facts about oranges