The Beauty of ORANGE

 

 

Most people are aware of the importance of eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day as these whole foods, created by nature are rich in nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes, required for healthy body functioning. To achieve optimal health benefits, is best to take a variety of different colors as each color contains unique health components.

What is orange?

 

Orange fruits and vegetables loaded with abundance of goodness are a great way to combat illness and disease. A vital component in them is antioxidant, known to be capable of eliminating free radicals, crucial for the health of the skin, eyesight and heart, and decrease the risk of cancer. The best-known antioxidant in orange foods is beta-carotene which gives their sunny and brilliant color.

Most of the orange foods contain the following nutrients -

Beta-carotene – Studies have found this flavonoid compound protects cells from free radical damage and may help to destroy pre-cancerous cells in the tumors, especially against skin, lung and oral cavity cancers. As a precursor (before conversion by the liver) to vitamin A, both share similar functions such as vision (including macular degeneration), reproduction (sperm production), immunity and age-related conditions.

Vitamin A: This is a powerful natural anti-oxidant and is required by the body for maintaining the integrity of skin and mucus membranes. Vital for night vision, your retina requires vitamin A in order to process visual stimuli. It is recommended that adults consume 700 to 900IU of vitamin A daily. It is often used for the treatment of acne and is vital to dermatological disorder. Do not worry that vitamin A is toxic when consumed in its natural form.

Vitamin B6: This particular vitamin is responsible for the production of hemoglobin - the component of red blood cells which transports oxygen to your lungs and cells. A deficiency can cause skin problems, extreme fatigue and neurological disease. As it helps to reduce the chemical homocysteine in our bodies, it is thus associated with degenerative diseases, including the prevention of heart attacks.

Vitamin C: Most people know that vitamin C is important to help ward off cold and flu viruses, but few people are aware of its important role in bone and tooth formation, digestion and blood cell formation. It helps to accelerate wound healing, produce collagen to maintain skin’s youthful elasticity, cope with stress and protect against cancer.

 

Vitamin D: It plays a vital role in our energy levels, moods, muscoskeletal development, heart, nerves, skin, teeth and thyroid gland support.

Iron: It plays other important roles in our body, including red and white blood cell production, resistance to stress, proper im­mune functioning and the metabolizing of protein.

Magnesium: As the relaxation and anti-stress mineral, it is necessary for healthy artery, blood, bone, heart, muscle, and nerve function.

Potassium: This mineral can help your body maintain a proper electrolyte balance and improve cardiac health by regulating blood pressure and keeping your blood osmolarity levels normal. If your potassium or sodium levels get too low, you could sustain a heart attack or stroke. In less severe deficiencies, you could feel sluggish and dizzy.

All the above compounds can be found in orange colored fruits and vegetables such as carrots, tangerines, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, mangoes, persimmons and pumpkins  Some examples are

 

Sweet potato

This tuber is found to contain huge amounts of beta-carotene, magnesium, copper, fibre, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D, potassium and iron. It helps in stomach ulcers and colon inflammation. Its high antioxidant properties combining both beta-carotene and vitamin C help to remove free radicals that cause damage cells, and thus prevent cancer in certain organs and glands.

Darker orange sweet potatoes contain more beta-carotene than yellow varieties. By cooking with its skin on helps to retain the most nutrients.
 

Orange

Orange contains Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Vitamin A, potassium and calcium. They are helpful with symptoms of asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, prevention of kidney stones, high blood pressure, arthritis and diabetes. It can also improve digestion and increases metabolism. However, taking in the morning can cause stomach irritation and gastritis.

One medium orange provides 120% of the recommended daily value of vitamin C. Note its low vitamin A content with no beta-carotene.

If you do not have the time to eat the whole fruit, go for the 100% orange juice which provides a host of nutrients and is free of fat, saturated fat, sodium, cholesterol and added sugars.

Mango

Mango is rich in pre-biotic dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and flavonoid antioxidant compounds. According to new research study, its antioxidants have been found to protect against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers.

Being high in iron, it helps to fight against anaemia, reduce kidney problems, fever and respiratory problems. Its high Vitamin C content can relieve a runny nose or clogged pores of the skin.

Mango peel is also rich in phytonutrients, such as the pigment antioxidants like carotenoids and polyphenols.

Papaya

The papaya is very low in calories (just 39 calories/100 g), a rich source of phyto-nutrients, minerals and vitamins, and contains no cholesterol.

High digestive enzymes help to break down some of the more difficult foods in our stomach eg. beans, dairy and meat. High in fibre it is a big relief for constipation or an upset stomach.

Taken in juice form, it helps to prevent nausea, including morning and motion sickness. Some studies have shown the juice can slow the proliferation of liver cancer cells, possibly due to lycopene or immune system stimulation.

In traditional medicine, papaya seeds are anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, and analgesic, and are frequently used to treat stomachache, ringworm infections and deadly bacteria like Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus or Salmonella typhi.

Unripe green papaya is cooked as a vegetable in many Asian and Pacific regions. However, the fruit should not be eaten raw as it contains toxic alkaloids in its milky latex. This is especially dangerous when taken in high doses by pregnant women.

A fully ripe papaya is full of nutrients, with a half providing 1,047 IU vitamin A, 84mg vitamin C and 234mg potassium. Taken in great amount can cause yellowing of soles and palms, which is otherwise harmless. However, this is no where compared with carrot as its beta carotene level is a mere 6% equivalent.

Carrot

This wholesome food has much health benefiting compounds such as beta-carotenes, vitamin A, minerals and anti-oxidants with negligible amount of fat and no cholesterol.

It is an exceptionally rich source of carotenes and vitamin-A. 100 g fresh carrot contains 8285 µg of beta-carotene and 16706 IU of vitamin A. When lightly cooked, it can release carotenes for better control of insulin levels.

One-half cup of carrots contains only 30 calories and more than 19,000 International Units (IU) of vitamin A. Adults should aim to consume 25,000-83,000 IU of vitamin A daily. Eaten as a healthy snack, it is also a good source of fiber.
 

Pumpkin

Pumpkin is incredibly rich in dietary fibre, minerals, vitamins (eg. vitamin A, C and E) and flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants such as leutin, xanathin and carotenes. 100g fruit provides just 26 calories and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol.

Loaded with Vitamin A and beta-carotene, they are great fighters of cancer, especially lung cancer and reduce the risk of heart disease. With its ability in providing urinary tract support and aid in normal kidney functioning, Type 2 diabetes can benefit much out of it.  A serving of 1 cup of cooking pumpkin provides 2,650IU of Vitamin A and 564mg potassium, as well as selenium, magnesium and folate.

Even pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of dietary fiber, mono-unsaturated fatty acids (good for heart health) and a concentrated sources of protein, minerals and health-benefiting vitamins. For instance, 100g of pumpkin seeds provide 559 calories, 30g of protein, 110% RDA of iron, 4987 mg of niacin (31% RDA), selenium (17% of RDA), zinc (71%) etc. It is also an excellent source of health promoting amino acid tryptophan, useful in treating sleeplessness and epilepsy.
 

Other comments

Combine orange fruits and vegetables with a few servings of dark green vegetables and you have yourself a winning combination. Lightly cooking orange vegetables actually helps to preserve the nutrients and enable the release of carotenes, which are otherwise trapped. As all carotenes are fat-soluble, absorption is enhanced if these foods are consumed with fats. All in makes a perfect meal!