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Five Health Benefits of Citrus Fruits

by BlondieWrites on January 15, 2010

Citrus fruits are delicious to eat. They are great for your body as well because they are filled with vitamins you need every day. Here are five health benefits of eating citrus fruits.

What is the best way to get your proper nutrition? It is through eating the right foods. There are many supplements, drinks, shakes and other products on the market designed to give your body what it needs but there is no substitute for the real thing. Food, in its natural form, gives the body the full strength of the vitamins and minerals needed to fight disease, repair tissues and keep organs functioning properly.

1. Protect your bones. Drinking milk is said to provide the best source of calcium and vitamin D, but eating oranges will do the same with better taste and more powerful results. Oranges can provide the body with both calcium and vitamin D. Sunlight helps the body to produce vitamin D which is essential for calcium to be effective in the body.

2. Help for your eyes. Our eyesight is precious for viewing the world at all stages of our life. One condition that affects eyes as they age is cataracts, a clouding over of the lens of the eye. To help prevent the progression of this condition, antioxidants are needed to neutralize free radicals in the body. Citrus fruits contain a few of the more powerful antioxidants: vitamin A, E and C.

3. Improve heart health. One condition that affects the state of the heart is cholesterol. When blood cholesterol levels are within normal limits, blood vessels remain clear for blood to pass. Healthy vessels are less likely to lead to aneurysms and blood clots that can lead embolism or thromboses.

4. Increasing proper digestion. In order for the digestive system to function properly, it needs to be flushed as often as possible. If you aren’t into colonics or other forms of colon cleansing, then do it the natural way with food. Citrus fruits contain vitamin C and fiber from eating the actual fruit. Drinking fruit juices (100 percent juice) will provide the vitamin C but not the fiber that you need. Fiber will clean your digestive tract and take some of the fat from your food with it. Fiber also lowers blood cholesterol levels of LDL (bad cholesterol).

5. Protect your skin. The skin is the largest organ of the body. It is the one we most often see so we want to keep it looking its best. Antioxidants help with that. Citrus fruits contain vitamin C and A, which are antioxidants. They help prevent wrinkling, firm skin and repairs damaged skin cells.

Drinking juice is quicker, but eating citrus fruits is better for your health. Head to the farmer’s market now and load up on oranges, grapefruit, lemons and the like. To your health!

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