It has been known for a long time now that citrus foods have many benefits. Generations ago, sailors who were on ships for long periods of time and who did not get enough of these fruits would get scurvy, a disease stimulated by lack of vitamin C. While most people today are not in danger of getting scurvy and do get enough vitamin C, they still do not typically get enough citrus fruits!
What is unfortunate is that these citrus fruits are easily available, healthy, and delicious. Consuming citrus fruits is easy, take an orange as a snack, or a half a grapefruit in the morning can also do. You have to make them a good part of your diet.
And there is such a variety of citrus fruits from which to select! This means more than just oranges and grapefruits. Your supermarket probably carries many items such as lemons, tangerines, mandarin oranges, pineapples, and yes, even tomatoes are citrus fruits!
Citrus fruits don’t simply hold the most essential nutrient, vitamin C, but many other nutrients as well. One is potassium. Lets acknowledge the others.
Vitamin C
Of course just about everyone thinks of vitamin C when they think of citrus fruits and there’s a reason for this – they are typically full of this important nutrient! The benefits of vitamin C are the it helps fight colds and illnesses, it helps you heal injuries faster, and prevents your body from sustaining free radicals.
This water soluble vitamin is also necessary for the health of your skin and your gums, but it must be had in the diet every day. Vitamin C is not stored in the body as other vitamins are. This means you must have at least a few citrus fruits and other foods that contain vitamin C every day. This will give you enough for your entire day’s needs; a single orange contains some 150% of the day’s recommendation of vitamin C!
Fiber
Many don’t associate fiber with citrus fruits. If you think of whole grains and things like cereal and bread with fiber, this is appropriate. Citrus fruits consist of what is called soluble fiber. Fiber is essential for your digestive system to function, and it is known to reduce you cholesterol.
Folic Acid or Folate
Folic acid which is also called folate is important for pregnant women especially. Folic acid should be obtained by women who are planning a pregnancy or are pregnant. It’s important for a woman’s body to be ready for pregnancy even before she conceives. Folic acid will help the body from becoming anemic, and it will prevent particular birth defects. A lot if not all the citrus fruits are rich of folic acid!
Potassium
Potassium tends to aid your body in keeping balance in of your fluid levels and also aids on sending signals in the nervous system. You can find potassium in oranges and bananas as well. If you have too much caffeine or get dehydrated you can lose potassium so of course it’s good to get some in your system every single day.
After knowing all this information you should be able to tell why citrus fruits should be a significant part of your diet. Citrus fruits are needed in order to get fit and sustain that body and health. It isn’t hard at all to add citrus fruits to your diet, because there are plenty of them to choose from!
By Joseph Carter
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