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Winter is the citrus season! Limes, grapefruits, lemons, and limes are abundant this time of year. Photo Credit: Cookinglight.com |
Citrus fruits are about to be in-season—oranges,
clementines, lemons, tangerines, grapefruits—and will be taking center stage in
most grocery store produce sections. Citrus fruits are sources of vitamin
C/ascorbic acid, an antioxidant that can be obtained through the diet, and of potassium,
a mineral that acts as an electrolyte and influences nerve impulses, fluid
balance, blood pressure, muscle use, and more in the body. When consuming the
whole fruit, citrus are also sources of fiber, a pre-biotic associated with
bowel health. Orange juice has been culturally portrayed as a morning beverage,
and, with oranges, is commonly shown in commercials as a way to balance your
breakfast when combined with a bowl of cereal and low-fat milk. In years past
our parents and grandparents can probably remember receiving oranges as special
treats during the holidays. But what is the benefit of making sure we consume citrus
and our general recommended fruit servings each day? There might be processes going
on internally that make fruits such as citrus more of a special treat than we
might think. To continue discussing the emerging topic of antioxidants’ protective
role in our diet, this blogpost discusses the proposed antioxidant actions of currently
studied citrus fruits at the cellular level and their suggested benefits.
One
review by Zou, Xi, Hu, et al. published in 2015 reports intriguing new information
on the studied benefit of antioxidants obtained through consumption of citrus.
As there are multiple types of antioxidants with differing actions, many of
these antioxidant compounds can be present in citrus fruits at once. The review
mentioned over 170 antioxidants may be present in citrus alone! The following antioxidants
(among others) were specifically mentioned with a description of their
suggested action:
Vitamin C · Neutralize reactive
oxygen species that may cause damage to cells
Vitamin A · React with free
peroxide that may cause damage
Vitamin E · React with free
peroxide and reactive oxygen species, protect mitochondria
Selenium · Protect
mitochondria, destroy free radicals
Flavonoids · Neutralize
reactive oxygen species, decrease formation of damaging peroxide,
enhance antioxidant enzyme activity
Limonoids · Destroy free radicals
Pectin · Destroy free
radicals, enhance antioxidant enzyme activity
Attributes of individual fruits that may affect antioxidant
content or the efficiency of how an antioxidant protects during growth include
the fruit type, growing soil quality, growing temperature/sunlight exposure, time
spent ripening, and fertilizer use. Even more impactful to antioxidants may be
the storage duration, temperature, and exposure to light; coolness and UV light
during citrus storage may produce greater amounts of antioxidants in the fruit,
even after harvest. Processing, however, under high heat (e.g. the
pasteurization of juice), high pressure, or freezing conditions was most
associated with decreased levels of antioxidants.
Should the present antioxidants
successfully protect cells from oxidative damage, processes such as
inflammation might be reduced, limiting the extent of damage to the body and
preventing the forward progression of certain conditions, including heart
disease and some cancers. Currently, research has only begun to scrape the
surface of antioxidant knowledge, though there has been progress made toward
goals of understanding the available antioxidants, each one’s
unique/overlapping functions, what factors optimize/diminish their activity,
and what daily amounts are sufficient for assisting in the prevention of
disease and/or the promotion of health. It’s
exciting to think how our foods may do more for our health than give us energy.
More health discoveries may come with even further clinical studies with human
participants!
Check out the REVIEW ARTICLE link here!
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