Enjoy The Health Benefits Of Oranges
November 11, 2011 by admin
Filed under News Stories
November 11, 2011
Natural News
By Brett Brown
“Oranges make an amazing snack. Eat two of them and discover just how full you will feel afterwards.” –KTRN
Oranges are one of the most widely eaten fruits in the world. They make an excellent snack, are great for breakfast and are extremely versatile in their many uses in recipes. Oranges are also a very nutritionally dense food that is renowned for its vitamin C content and all the health benefits that come along with it, but oranges have much more to offer than just vitamin C.
Limonoids:
Oranges are an excellent source for a long lasting compound called limonoids. Limonoids are phytochemicals that are abundant in many citrus fruits, including oranges. Limonoids are known to help fight cancers of the mouth, lung, breast, skin, stomach and colon. The limonoids found in citrus fruits can stay in our bodies for roughly 24 hours, and can help to prevent the proliferation of cancer cells for a much longer time than the phenols found in green tea, which remain active in our bodies for 4 to 6 hours.
Herperidin:
Oranges also contain a flavanone molecule called herperidin. Herperidin, possibly one of the most important flavanones in oranges, has been shown to lower cholesterol and high blood pressure in animal studies. Herperidin is also a strong anti-inflammatory. It is important to note that herperidin is mostly found in the peel and inner white pith of the orange, and to gain the benefits of herperidin you should leave some of the pith on the orange while you eat it.
Kidney Stones:
According to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, women, who drank half to one liter of either apple, grapefruit, or orange juice daily, increased their pH level of their urine and citric acid excretion. This in turn significantly decreased their risk of forming calcium oxalate stones.
Click here for the full report.
Why ’100% Orange Juice’ Is Still Artificial
August 4, 2011 by admin
Filed under News Stories
August 4th, 2011
The Huffington Post
File this one under “things we always sort of knew, but wish we didn’t.” All that “100% orange juice, not from concentrate” stuff you’ve been drinking? Technically, it’s “not from concentrate,” but it’s not really 100% orange juice either, a report at Civil Eats details.
The process is rather depressing. Gizmodo explains part of the process:
Once the juice is squeezed and stored in gigantic vats, they start removing oxygen. Why? Because removing oxygen from the juice allows the liquid to keep for up to a year without spoiling. But! Removing that oxygen also removes the natural flavors of oranges. Yeah, it’s all backwards. So in order to have OJ actually taste like oranges, drink companies hire flavor and fragrance companies, the same ones that make perfumes for Dior, to create these “flavor packs” to make juice taste like, well, juice again.
Any taste difference in say Minute Maid versus Tropicana is therefore due to the specific flavor pack the company uses. Since these flavor packs are made from orange byproducts, they don’t have to be considered an ingredient, and therefore are not required to appear on food labels. This is despite the fact they are chemically altered.
Perhaps its time to take the juicer out of that dusty corner in the garage.
UPDATE: Karen Mathis, the Public Relations Director of the Florida Department of Citrus wrote HuffPost Food the following letter that offers the citrus industry’s description of the process, without disputing any of the above:
Dear Ms. Polis,
On behalf of the Florida Department of Citrus, I am writing in response to the article on HuffPost Food, entitled “Why 100% Orange Juice is Still Artificial.” Please allow me to share further information.
Purchased by nearly 70 percent of American households, people choose 100 percent orange juice for its great taste and nutrition benefits. Both “from concentrate” and “not from concentrate” orange juice are healthy options that provide a variety of nutrients. By utilizing state-of-the-art technology, Florida is able to provide a consistent supply of high quality, nutritious orange juice year round.
By law, 100 percent orange juice is made only from oranges. The basic principle of orange juice processing is similar to how you make orange juice at home. Oranges are washed and the juice is extracted by squeezing the oranges. Seeds and particles are strained out. Orange juice is pasteurized to ensure food safety.
During processing, natural components such as orange aroma, orange oil from the peel, and pulp may be separated from the orange juice. After the juice is pasteurized, these natural orange components may be added back to the orange juice for optimal flavor.
Please visit www.OrangeJuiceFacts.com for more information about orange juice.
Please feel free to contact me if you’d like to discuss in more detail. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Karen Mathis
Click here for the full report from The Huffington Post
You’ve Been Eating Cloned Bananas
June 9, 2011 by admin
Filed under News Stories
June 9th, 2011
Natural News
By: Mike Adams
Have you ever noticed that while there are a plethora of varieties of nearly all common fruits such as apples, oranges and peaches, each banana seems identical to every other? When someone says “banana,” you probably think of a large fruit with yellow skin and a soft, pale middle.
That’s because only bananas of the “Cavendish” variety are sold in stores. And while there are indeed many species in the banana genus “Musa,” those species are drastically different from the “banana” in taste and texture. Fruit corporations long ago decided that it would best serve their profits to train consumers to expect all bananas to be identical.
In order to preserve their distinctive properties, Cavendish bananas are never allowed to reproduce sexually. That means they all have the exact same genetic code as the first Cavendish tree selected by United Fruit Corporation in the 1950s to replace the Gros Michael banana.
The Gros Michael banana — another genetically identical cultivar — was so devastated by disease that it could no longer be supplied to the global market in any quantity. Now the same disease is targeting the Cavendish variety, exposing yet again the folly and non-sustainability of monoculture.
Source: 25 Amazing Facts About Food, authored by Mike Adams and David Guiterrez. Learn surprising things about where your food comes from and what’s really in it! Download the full report (FREE) by clicking here. Inside, you’ll learn 24 more amazing but true facts about foods, beverages and food ingredients. Instant download of the complete PDF.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Iron, Folic Acid Supplementation During Pregnancy Results In Children With Better Motor Skills
December 27, 2010 by admin
Filed under News Stories
December 27th, 2010
Natural News
By: Jonathan Benson
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association highlights the importance of getting plenty of the right vitamins, minerals and nutrients during pregnancy. The study showed that Indian women who supplemented with prenatal iron, folic acid and vitamin A produced children who were smarter and had better motor skills than children from mothers who did not supplement.
“Micronutrient inadequacy is a critical concern among pregnant women and young children throughout the world,” explained Parul Christian, Dr.P.H., from Johns Hopkins University, and his colleagues in their study paper. “Gestation and the early postnatal period are considered sensitive periods for brain development, and nutritional deprivation during this period may lead to functional impairments.”
Researchers evaluated 676 children between 7-9 years of age who had been born to various women given either folic acid and iron; folic acid, iron and zinc; folic acid, iron, zinc and 11 other micronutrients; or placebo. The team found that iron and folic acid in particular improved intellectual capacity, executive function, motor function and fine motor control.
Iron deficiency in particular is associated with negative alterations in cognitive development, which can lead to decreased intellectual capacity and under-developed motor skills. Additionally, women who do not get enough folic acid during pregnancy have a much higher risk of bearing a child with birth defects.
Foods naturally rich in iron include string beans, turnip greens, mustard greens, spinach, chard and other leafy greens. These same greens also contain high levels of natural folate, as do beans, peas, asparagus, avocados, strawberries and oranges. And zinc-rich foods include oysters, certain meats, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and green peas.
