So you want to start drinking orange juice? The good news is that this tasty drink comes with numerous health benefits. Orange juice contains lots of health-boosting nutrients that help to strengthen your immune system. The best part is that making homemade orange juice with the best masticating juicer is super easy nowadays. You can prepare it in your own kitchen every morning.
But hang on a minute. Wasn’t the health benefits of orange juice a myth that was started in the 1920s to sell off overproduced oranges? Here’s the deal: It’s true, that the popularity of drinking orange juice in the mornings owes a lot to marketing campaigns a hundred years ago. But that doesn’t mean the beverage wouldn’t pack a ton of benefits. To give you a sober and objective overview of this refreshing orange drink, we’ve compiled a list of some of the main pros and cons of orange juice. Sounds good? Let’s dive in.
Pros of Drinking Orange Juice:
Orange Juice Makes Your Skin Glow
Get this: there’s a lot of vitamin C in orange juice. This powerful antioxidant protects your skin cells from free radical damage that can cause premature aging in skin. The cool part is that orange juice benefits for skin can be obtained even by rubbing the drink directly to your skin. It prevents acne, wrinkles, and other skin problems. Believe it or not, but getting enough vitamin C is also essential to healing sunburn.
Boosts Your Immune System
Vitamin C protects cells everywhere in your body. And it actually promotes the production of new immune cells. This makes the overall immune system working more efficiently.
Better Blood Circulation
Orange juice has a lot of folates, which is needed to grow new cells in your body. But that’s not the only thing folate is good for. It also plays a major role in growing new red blood cells and improving the blood flow through your body.
It Lowers Your Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is a serious condition that shouldn’t be ignored. Orange juice is high in potassium, which is the key to lowering blood pressure. It only takes two glasses a day to feel the change.
Orange Juice May Even Prevent Cancer
As mentioned earlier, orange juice is rich in vitamin C that works as a powerful antioxidant. It keeps your DNA from aging too soon and your cells from mutating into cancer. Looking at the nutrition facts for orange juice, we can see that they also contain vitamin B9. This vitamin is also helpful in reducing changes in DNA that could lead to cancer.
And now let’s get to the possible disadvantages of drinking orange juice.
Cons of Drinking Orange Juice:
Bad for Your Teeth
While having a few glasses of orange juice a day is relatively safe for your teeth, higher quantities can start to damage the tooth enamel. It’s because of the high acid content of oranges. The worst juices for your teeth are concentrated ones. So making your own fresh orange juice is the best way to go.
Can Cause Heartburn
The acid content of citrus juices can cause symptoms of heartburn like pain below your ribs and in your throat. If orange juice upsets your stomach and causes burns, you should avoid drinking it. Unfortunately, there’s no other way around it.
High Levels of Fructose
Is orange juice good for weight loss? The simple answer is that because of its high level of fructose, probably not. If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s better to drink water instead of juices and try getting most of your vitamins from low-calorie foods like vegetables.
Giving orange juice for kids can be very beneficial in boosting their immune systems, but too much of the good thing can cause unwanted weight gain.
Little Nutritional Value in Processed Juice
Commercial orange juice is mostly processed so heavily that there’s almost nothing left in it from the oranges. The beneficial essences and oils are taken out and the final juice gets its taste from artificial flavoring. So that’s another reason to opt for squeezing the juice from oranges yourself and save the packaged product for orange juice cocktails.
Type 2 Diabetes
For some people, a glass of orange juice can lead to developing type 2 diabetes. But here’s the interesting thing: consuming the fruit by eating it can actually reduce the risk of getting diabetes. So if you are at risk for diabetes, you should stay away from the juice and get your C vitamin from eating the orange instead.
Conclusion:
Orange juice is a great start for your days. It packs loads of beneficial nutrients that boost your immune system, regulates your blood pressure, and give a youthful glow to your skin. However, remember that moderation is the key. Drinking too much orange juice can also lead to health problems. The acid in the drink can cause heartburn and damage to teeth. High levels of fructose can make you gain weight.
So start adding just one glass of delicious orange juice to your breakfast menu and watch your health getting better every day. Trust us. It’ll be worth it.
What did you think of our pros and cons of orange juice? Did we help you make a decision on whether or not to start adding it to your menu? Was there a major benefit we didn’t mention? Leave comments below, we’d love to hear from you. Your opinion is important to us!