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HEALTH BENEFITS
Of Citrus Fruits
 |  | Encouraging a healthy lifestyle is important to your family’s vitality. Juicy Twist helps you promote healthy choices by adding fun into the mix! Whether taking Juicy Twist on the go or using it at home, you are including a fun way to help your family make healthy choices. Americans are becoming increasingly aware of the link between nutrition and reducing the risk of disease. While most people know that eating the right foods in the proper amounts is essential for good health, a growing body of evidence suggests that certain foods containing vitamin C, fiber, folate and other vitamins and minerals may be especially beneficial to maintaining personal wellness. Citrus fruits, which contain essential vitamins and minerals, are an important part of a healthy diet for all men, women and children. Juicy-sweet oranges, zesty lemons and tangy grapefruits offer simple and flavorful ways to achieve a well-balanced diet. Citrus fruits are high in Vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants, provide vital carbohydrates, and contain very little fat to speak of. The Whole versus Just the Juice The concentration of vitamin C in orange pulp is “ten times” that found in the juice. Heat, including pasteurization, reduces the nutrient content of juice. Orange juice begins to lose vitamin C (and other nutrients) from the moment it becomes exposed to the atmosphere. As well, citrus flavonoids, resident in the fruit’s tissue, juice, pulp, and skin, are one of the reasons for the health-promoting attributes of citrus fruits. They represent the essence, so to speak, as to why whole fruit is so much more beneficial than just the juice. These citrus flavonoids are powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. They also serve as antimutagenic substances; that is, they help to mitigate the onslaught of cancer and other chronic diseases by frustrating unwanted cell mutation. Healthy Weight Citrus fruits are natural sources of potassium; and yet, they are sodium and cholesterol-free. Research shows that regular exercise along with a balanced diet high in fruit and vegetables and low in fat can help maintain healthy weight. Glycemic Index Values Glycemic Index Values characterize how fast, or slowly, digestion occurs. Lower values apply to carbohydrates which require more time to digest. Glycemic Index Values range from 0 to 100 and fall into the following categories and ranges: Low Glycemic Index Foods (GI 54 or less) Cause a slower rise in blood-sugar. Intermediate Glycemic Index Foods (GI 55-69) Cause a medium rise in blood-glucose. High Glycemic Index Foods (GI 70+) Cause a rapid rise in blood-glucose levels. Citrus fruit, due to its high acidity, helps slow gastric emptying. This affinity for protracting digestion, just the opposite of “burning foods fast”, is synonymous with a so-called “preservation”, or conservation of energy in people! As you then can go for longer periods of time while eating less, hunger is put off. Hence, a staple citrus regimen is useful for dieting. | |  Heart Disease The Food and Drug Administration has concluded that diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease. Furthermore, low fat diets high in fruits and vegetables containing fiber, including soluble fiber, may reduce the at risk of heart disease. Citrus fruit and their juices are fat-free and cholesterol-free, and citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit are high in fiber. Cancer Researchers at the National Cancer Institute have long maintained that a low-fat diet high in vitamin C-rich foods may help reduce the risk of some types of cancer. |
| Glycemic Index values for various fruits and fruit juices, along with their respective acidity levels are listed to the right. Notice how whole citrus fruits exhibit lower overall GI values than their respective fruit juices. The disparity appears to be greatest for grapefruits; meaning you get much more nutrition by consuming the entire fruit, as opposed to just drinking its juice. | Whole Oranges GI Value — 31 to 51, Average 42 pH — 3.0 to just above 4 Mandarins GI Value — 30 pH — 4.25 Tangerines GI Value — 30 pH — 3.1 to 4.2 Orange Juice GI Value — 46 to 57 pH — 3.30 to 4.15 | Whole Grapefruits: GI Value — 25 pH — 3.0 to 3.75 Grapefruit Juice GI Value — 48 pH — 2.9 to 3.3 | Whole Lemons GI Value — 20 pH — around 2 Whole Limes GI Value — 15 pH — 2.00 to 2.80 Now, with Juicytwist you can drink straight from the lemon and lime! This is especially useful for clearing nasal passages when experiencing a cold. |
Specific Health Benefits of Grapefruits
From bolstering your immune system — to brightening your smile — to giving
your skin that
youthful glow, Grapefruit and Grapefruit juice pack
a Powerful Punch!
Facts on the Goodness of Grapefruits:
Fight Iron Deficiency. About 10 percent of U.S. women and 30 to 60 percent of women and children in developing countries are iron deficient. Consuming citrus fruits like grapefruit juice can help boost the absorption of non-heme iron (the iron found in plants, not meat products). Meaning, if you drink a glass of grapefruit juice before eating a spinach salad your body absorbs two to four times as much iron.
Strengthen Your Immune System. When you feel that tickle in the back of your throat and you have the sniffles, it’s important to give your body the fluids and nutrients it craves to stay healthy. A serving of grapefruit or grapefruit juice provides more than 100 percent of the daily value for vitamin C, which supports a healthy immune system.
Brighten Your Smile, Improve Your Skin. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient for healthy skin and gums. Vitamin C helps build collagen, skin strength and elasticity. Just one daily glass of grapefruit juice supplies all the vitamin C you need.
Lower Cholesterol. Grapefruits contains a high level of pectin fiber which maintains healthy cholesterol levels.
Fight Disease. An antioxidant, vitamin C neutralizes “free radicals” that many scientists believe cause cell damage that may contribute to the development of chronic illnesses like heart disease and cancer. Grapefruit gives you 110% of the current daily value of vitamin C.
Prevent Cancer. Pink and Ruby Red grapefruit contain Lycopene which is associated with decreasing the risk of ovarian cancer, predominantly in pre-menopausal women, and alleviating other forms of cancer. Lycopene is a potent antioxidant that also may prevent heart disease, the number one killer of women today.
Make You Sassy. Recent research suggests that grapefruit juice reduces bloating and fatigue making you feel better than ever.