Some amazing benefits of Orange juice includes fortifies our immune system, improves digestive health, lowers the risk of cancer, protects the cardiovascular system, prevents kidney diseases, assists in weight loss, cleanses the skin, reduces wrinkles, improves eyesight, incredible healing properties, prevent hair loss, makes your hair beautiful, lower cholesterol levels, a natural anti-inflammatory, and provides nutrients during pregnancy.
Orange juice is one of the best known and preferred beverages around the world. It is incredibly accessible and easy to make, as you only need to squeeze a few fresh oranges. This fruit’s sweet and citrus taste makes it the perfect refreshing drink for hot summer days.
But is regularly drinking orange juice good for you? And what benefits does this bring to your life? While rich in Vitamin C, the myth of this drink curing and preventing colds has been long busted through various studies.
However, oranges contain high levels of flavonoids, vitamin C and B9, and antioxidants. Among its many nutrients, oranges can offer our bodies a healthy intake of potassium, magnesium, Vitamins A and E and iron.
Thanks to this fruit’s numerous properties, it can improve the health of our skin, hair, and body.
15 Awesome Benefits of Orange Juice
Here are the 15 awesome benefits of orange juice that we can make use of in our daily life!
1. Fortifies Our Immune System
100% orange juice can help improve our immune systems through the high levels of Vitamin C. It is important to remember that a single serving offers up to the double of Vitamin C that our bodies need daily. So, in this case, a limited but regular intake is preferred.
Oranges are also known to contain ascorbic acids, a component of collagen, which helps cells rejuvenate and promote the growth of tissue in our bodies. Through these two nutrients, orange juice can help to keep healthy and fight diseases.
2. Improves Digestive Health
A healthy intake of fluids is key to creating a regular digestion process. However, apart from supplying water, oranges are rich in fibers. A small orange offers up to 3g of fibre, two-thirds of which is absorbed by our body tissue.
The remaining part stays within our digestive system, which acts as a cleaning agent for our bowels. Studies have proven that the daily intake of orange juice should be increased steadily, and not abruptly. This will create a fiber spike that could lead to diarrhea.
3. Lowers the Risk of Cancer
While high intakes of Vitamin C haven’t been proven to cure cancer, they are being injected in patients with great results in fighting the disease.
Vitamin C is reported to reduce the risk of cancer of the mouth, esophagus, and stomach by up to 40%. These benefits are due to citruses’ protective nutrients such as fibre, potassium, and flavonoids.
4. Protects the Cardiovascular System
Oranges contain Vitamin B9 and folate. These promote blood circulation and purification by assisting in the production of red blood cells. Two cups of 100% orange juice a day for a month can lower blood pressure and improve the inner lining of blood vessels.
Hesperidin, one of the many flavonoids present in oranges, is essential to maintain well-oxygenated blood flow.
5. Prevents Kidney Diseases
The high levels of calcium and potassium contained in oranges can help in the prevention of kidney stones. This is a painful disease of the kidney that arises when oxalate particles attach themselves to calcium particles.
It is often caused by a misbalance in the levels of oxalate and calcium. Assuming enough calcium in a daily diet can maintain a normal oxalate formation in the kidney and therefore is proven to prevent kidney stones.
6. Assists in Weight Loss
Orange juice has been part of diets and weight loss programs for a while. This is mainly due to the filling property of oranges. The juice has a sweet taste but has a low glycaemic index and fat content.
These properties make it perfect for a snack when trying to follow a low-sugar diet. However, nutritionists suggest eating a whole orange rather than its juice. The squeezing process could lower the number of fibres that help in losing weight.
Also, this could reduce the temptation of buying bottled orange juices that contain added sugar. This would be counterproductive in the process of losing weight.
7. Cleanses the Skin
The vitamins C and E present in oranges help regenerate skin cells. This helps reduce scarring from blackheads and spots.
Also, these properties can reduce the effects of the sun burning by repairing damaged cells. Drinking orange juice assists the skin in healing quicker when moderately damaged.
8. Reduces Wrinkles
The anti-aging effects of anti-oxidants and citric acids have been proven through a large number of studies. Orange juice contains high levels of these nutrients and, through a regular intake, can reduce the visibility of wrinkles. Moreover, oranges are efficient in detoxing your body and skin from impurities and toxins.
To enhance the anti-aging effects of orange juice, mix it with some other citrus fruits such as lemon or mandarin. Grapefruit and limes are also great options to change up your standard orange juice!
9. Improves Eyesight
The benefits of Carotene and Vitamin A, both present in high levels in orange juice, have been studied over the years. Vitamin A is essential for good vision as it protects the cornea, the surface of the eye.
Along with carotene, this vitamin is part of a larger group of antioxidants responsible for fortifying the immune system. Orange juice can help you strengthen the membrane of the eye and make it an effective barrier for bacteria or infections.
10. It Has Incredible Healing Properties
Oranges are rich in flavonoids, such as hesperidin and anthocyanins. They also have antioxidant properties that make oranges essential in natural healing processes.
These might prevent heart attacks and help in the process of regenerating damaged cells. Orange juice is therefore helpful during the recovery process after an infection or surgery.
However, its healing properties don’t stop here! It can be a great help in regenerating skin, hair, and bone cells.
11. Prevent Hair Loss
A healthy daily intake of carotene and antioxidants could be the key to avoid hair loss or damage. These nutrients regenerate the hair cells and increase their strength. Sweet orange and essential oils can also be used to strengthen the effect of the orange juice itself.
12. Makes Your Hair Beautiful
Who said that you have to drink OJ to benefit from it? Just mix it up with some lemon juice and honey and you will have a natural homemade hair mask.
This is shown to help with cleansing the scalp from dead skin cells, which would reduce dandruff. Also, natural hair masks will moisturize the hair and repair the damage caused by everyday stress.
During the winter months, when the hair hardly gets the nutrients it needs, it can be a great source of moisture and vitamin content.
13. Lower Cholesterol Levels
Long term orange juice consumption has been proven to lower the levels of cholesterol in adults. Along with other high fibre foods such as oatmeal, orange juice assists in the reduction of LDL cholesterol. While assuming 5 to 10 grams of soluble fibre will give you visible results, there are other factors to it.
It is important to combine a high fibre diet with exercise and healthy eating to lower your cholesterol to its normal value.
It can also assist in maintaining the health of the cardiovascular system. The excess cholesterol is cleansed by the soluble fiber contained in oranges.
14. It’s A Natural Anti-Inflammatory
Inflammations are a normal reaction of our immune system to fight a disease or infection. However, when this persists for a long time it can cause chronic diseases.
In such a case a prolonged use of medicinal and anti-inflammatory drugs can worsen your general health.
A good solution is to switch to natural remedies and therapies that will also supply nutrients to your body. Orange juice can be a natural alternative to over-the-counter anti-inflammatories.
15. Provides Nutrients During Pregnancy
Oranges contain folic acid and Vitamin C. During pregnancy these are essential nutrients for a healthy diet and body. Depending on specific body weight and health, mums to be are advised to have an intake of around 2 ½ cups of fruit a day.
In the choice of fruit or juices, orange is preferred as it contains folate. Folate helps in the creation of DNA and can help prevent the formation of neural tube defects in the baby.
Moreover, orange juice has high levels of potassium. This property might help lower high blood pressure, a common condition in pregnant women.
Bottom Line
Orange juice has a number of awesome benefits that range from improving how your hair looks to lowering your blood pressure.
However, the choice of oranges or orange juice is just as important! 100% freshly squeezed orange juice is always preferred. This is also the one that will help you lose weight quickly, so you will see its benefits earlier.
It is acceptable to buy bottled orange juice from supermarkets. Just be aware that many will have added sugar in it and the juice’s nutritional values might have been changed.
Always check the label to avoid consuming a higher level of sugars or calories that you wanted to.
Orange juice has awesome properties that can help your health in many ways. However, a nutritionally correct diet and regular exercise will improve the results of drinking orange juice!
