Winter Gold - Sweet and Juicy Citrus Fruits

Superfoods contain high concentrations of the nutrients that are essential for our wellbeing. By increasing your superfood consumption the inevitable result is a more nutrient dense, lower calorie, health promoting diet.

Have you seen the boxes and boxes of juicy clementines in your grocery store? How about all the luscious grapefruit and aromatic oranges?

These superfruits are delicious in the morning and the afternoon, or even as an after dinner snack . Not only are they sweet, low in calories, high in fiber and very portable, but they also are an excellent source of vitamin C, flavonoids, folate and pectin - all of which are crucial to a healthy body.

Our cells need constant replenishment of vitamin C. Our bodies don't make our own vitamin C and, for somewhat complex reasons, what we get from the food that we eat doesn't last long in our systems. Unfortunately, 20 to 30 percent of Americans have low levels of vitamin C in their blood, and 16 percent are actually deficient in this vital nutrient.

You may not realize how many different ways this important vitamin is crucial to health. For instance, vitamin C protects all of our cells by neutralizing free-radicals. DNA and cells damaged by free-radicals can lead to cancer and heart disease.

Citrus is rich in flavonoids. Among other things, they are antioxident, anti-inflamatory, antiallergenic, antimicrobial and antimutagenic. This means the flavonoids in citrus help prevent cells from mutating and initiating one of the first steps in the development of cancer and other chronic diseases.

When you eat citrus, don't skip the pulp and whitish pith interlaced with the juicy fruit part. The pulp has twice the concentration of vitamin C than the peel and 10 times the amount in the juice. There is a great amount of pectin in the white pith lining of citrus. Pectin is dietary fiber which helps reduce cholesterol and also contributes to stabilizing blood sugar. Citrus fruits don't ripen after picking. Whole citrus fruits can be stored in the refrigerator or on the counter. Just make sure you take them out of the bags or boxes so they don't become moldy.

Source: www.superfoodsrx.com