6 good reasons to eat citrus

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Citrus fruits are known for their stimulating effects: their vitamin C is essential throughout the year, and especially in winter. But their benefits do not stop there! Here’s why you should add some sun to your plate.

1. They are rich in antioxidants.

One of the most popular citrus fruits is undoubtedly orange, which is always associated with vitamin C, and for good reason: it provides 70 mg, or 90% of the recommended nutritional intake for women .

This vitamin, also contained in mandarin, clementine, lemon and grapefruit, is a powerful antioxidant. It protects cells against free radical damage that the body produces by burning oxygen, and may also reduce the incidence of certain cancers, heart attacks, strokes and other diseases. It is also involved in the proper functioning of immune defenses, and its role against the small evils of winter is not usurped.

Most of us feel a little bit of a whip after eating an orange. This is why it is better to eat citrus at breakfast than at dinner.

2. They are a good source of potassium and beta-carotene.

Tangerine is richer in vitamin A (as beta-carotene) than any other citrus fruit. It contains 775 IU (international units) or 77 ER (retinol equivalents) of vitamin A, as well as 130 mg of potassium . Pink grapefruit and red grapefruit are also rich in beta-carotene.

3. They are low in calories.

Some diets recommend grapefruit on the grounds that it has the ability to eliminate fat. No food has this power. Anyone who follows a grapefruit diet is likely to lose weight because he eats little else, exposing himself to serious deficiencies. That said, grapefruit and most citrus fruit are still a favorite food when you want to lose weight because a serving contains less than 100 calories, while their many fibers satisfy the appetite.

4. They protect against cancer.

Recent studies show that grapefruit contains other substances that can prevent disease. The pink and red varieties, for example, are rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that appears to reduce the incidence of prostate cancer. Researchers have not figured out how to do it, but research at Harvard, which in six years has reached 48,000 doctors and health care workers, said that 10 weekly servings of lycopene-rich foods lead to a reduction of 50 % of prostate cancers .

Orange contains bioflavonoids such as rutin and hesperidin, plant pigments that can prevent or slow the growth of tumors . Like tangerine, it contains beta-cryptoxanthin, a carotenoid that can help prevent colon cancer.

5. They regulate cholesterol.

Citrus fruits provide a good amount of pectin, a soluble dietary fiber that helps control blood cholesterol levels.

6. They help with digestion.

The Chinese use tangerines to soothe digestion, soothe nausea and as an expectorant. In France, you give a tangerine to a child who has a stomach ache or hiccups.

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