Oranges - Get your burst of vitamin C

 

This time of year, you start to see citrus sales in the grocery store. Oranges are the most popular of the citrus fruits and in the 1900’s were considered exotic, but now are one of the biggest commercial fruit crops in the world. A medium orange contains only 60 calories, but 116% of your daily need for vitamin C.  Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid), is an antioxidant that helps protect your cells against things that play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases. Another very good source of vitamin C is the red bell pepper. 

A medium orange is also a good source of potassium (helps maintain normal levels of fluid inside of our cells and helps muscles –including the heart, to contract, and supports normal blood pressures), thiamin (a B vitamin that helps the body generate energy from nutrients), and folate (important in red blood cell formation and healthy cell growth and function). 

Springfield Advance-Press

13 S. Marshall Avenue PO Box 78 Springfield, MN 56087

507-723-4225