Get Eternal Youth with Oranges, or at Least Keep the Wrinkles Away

Oranges are one of nature's 'power fruits' and adding one per day to the family diet can have remarkable benefits.

The pectin in oranges can suppress appetite for several hours, so an orange is a perfect snack if you are trying to watch your weight. It's a great habit to teach your children. (Good luck with getting them to prefer an orange to a chocolate bar, or cookies!)

Oranges contain anti-oxidants which help to maintain healthy, vibrant skin. These work with the body's own detoxification system and increase the oxygen flow around the body. Eating oranges can also help to keep wrinkles away and give you that youthful looking skin for much longer.

Recent tests and experiments in US and UK have suggested that oranges may help to fight and prevent some forms of skin, mouth, throat, breast and lung cancer.

The citrus luminoids in the fruit have been shown to have far reaching benefits on general health by reducing cholesterol levels.

They do help to protect the skin from damage in the sun, but are not a substitute for sunblock.

Oranges are an excellent source of all the B vitamins and one per day provides 7% of the potassium needed to balance the fluid levels in the body. The phytochemicals in an orange combine to give protection to all the cells in the body. These chemicals have no nutritional value on their own but in combination they have a dramatic effect.

An orange of average size provides 50grams of vitamin C which is 66% of the body's daily requirement. This vitamin helps to protect the body by building the immune system and fighting infection and it speeds up wound healing.

One average sized orange contains the following:

Calories 80

Fat 0

Cholesterol 0

Sodium 0

Potassium 7% daily recommended amount.

Carbohydrate 6% recommended amount.

Dietary fiber 3grams.

Sugar 14grams.

Vitamin A 2%

Vitamin C 66%

Calcium 6%

According to a recent study undertaken in Finland, women who ate oranges every day had their risk of heart disease halved compared to those who didn't eat them. The flavanoids in the fruit are thought to be responsible for this because they help to protect the cells by releasing anti oxidants.