Back in the days when we were growing up in
the village I remember vividly that my mother sometimes would boil herbs of
orange leaves, guava and mango leaves as well, for the purpose of curing
malaria (fever) using the steam bath approach. Then I cannot recall her making
use of orange peels for anything. But now orange peels have also proven to be
highly potent as a remedy for various ailments. Oranges are very popular fruits
in Nigeria but very few people identify with the peel, which is arguably the
healthiest part of the entire fruit as modern research has shown.
![]() |
Orange peel health benefits |
Orange peels are rich in flavonoids – more
than 60 types of them; these are any of a large class of plant pigments having
a chemical structure based on, or similar to flavones. They are such like
hesperidin and polymethoxyflavones (PMFs); in addition these peels contain over
170 different phytochemicals, which make for so many health advantages.
Flavonoids are also antioxidant compounds and recognised for the prevention of chronic
illnesses like heart ailment and cancer. Again, orange peel carries higher
amounts of certain vitamins than its flesh apart from dietary fibres. For
instance, 3.5 oz of orange peel affords 136 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C, even
as the flesh includes about 71 mg.
Orange peel additionally contains
considerable amounts of calcium, copper, magnesium, vitamin A, folate and
different B vitamins. Though it has a very harsh orange and sour taste but this
also proves that a meal is healthy; the sour flavour is the result of the
various flavonoids that orange peels carry.
Coronary
heart health
Orange peels (in addition to the underlying
white pulp, or pith) are fortified with hesperidin, a flavonoid that has been
proven to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol in animals that have been
studied. It additionally has anti-inflammatory properties studies have shown. In
the elderly and people who are overweight, eating hesperidin contained in
orange peel has been discovered to seriously decrease diastolic blood pressure
(DBP) after about three to four weeks of usage.
![]() |
The orange skin contains numerous phytochemicals |
The polymethoxylated flavones (PMFs) in
orange peels have additionally been proven to decrease cholesterol even far
better than pharmaceutical drugs, without the usual side effects.
Lead author, Elzbieta Kurowska, Ph.D., vice
chairman of research at KGK Synergize in Ontario, Canada, said: "Our study has shown that PMFs have the most
potent cholesterol-lowering effect of any other citrus flavonoid … We believe
that PMFs have the potential to rival and even beat the cholesterol-lowering
effect of some prescription drugs, without the risk of side effects."
Orange
Peels may have anti-cancer properties
The flavonoids in orange peel have the ability
to inhibit the RLIP76 protein that has to do with cancer and weight problems. Scientists
are still studying this ‘herb’ for this purpose, but if an orange peel extract
could inhibit or reduce expression of RLIP76, it would have tremendous
implications for persistent diseases they say.
Sanjay Awasthi, M.D., professor in the
Division of Molecular Diabetes Research at City of Hope hospital said:
"When you get rid of this (RLIP76) gene in a mouse, it would appear that
the mouse can't get obese, it can't get diabetes,
it can't get high cholesterol and it can't get cancer." And according to a
research published in the journal BioMed Research International: "Due to their broad range of
pharmacological properties, citrus flavonoids have gained increased attention.
Accumulative in vitro and in vivo studies indicate protective effects of
polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) against the occurrence of cancer.
PMFs inhibit
carcinogenesis by mechanisms like blocking the metastasis cascade, inhibition
of cancer cell mobility in circulatory systems, proapoptosis, and
antiangiogenesis.
… Taken all
together, a considerable number of well-established lines of evidence have
confirmed that flavonoids in citrus peel exhibit a remarkable spectrum of
efficacious biological activities, particularly in antitumorigenesis.
Excellent
permeability through membrane allows citrus flavonoids to possess great
bioavailability, which consequently attracts researchers to perform scientific
studies for effective disease prevention and treatment."
Anti-Allergic
and anti inflammatory benefits of Orange peel
Compounds that are loaded in orange peels and
other citrus peels can also halt the release of histamines - chemical compounds
that bring about allergic reactions, making them a very potent anti-allergic
food. Orange peels may help to cleanse your lungs, assisting you to get rid of
phlegm, and the high levels of vitamin C are useful on your immune system, helping
you ward off respiratory ailments like colds and flu.
In addition, citrus peel extract facilitates
suppression of infections similar to the anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin.
The peel may also provide quite a number additional health benefits, along with
improvement in digestion and increased rate of metabolism, in keeping with the
standards of Ayurveda medicine.
![]() |
Add Orange peel to you beverages |
Also, it improves oral health generally: you
can eat orange peels as a herbal breath freshener or rub the inside of it
against your teeth to assist with whitening, and tooth sensitivity. Orange peel
can help to improve your skin appearance: Rub on the extract when blended with
milk to lighten dark spots on your skin.
Orange peels are low in energy but rich infibre, making them a beneficial food in case you're seeking to shed some weight.
This you can as well do with other fruit peels and rinds to achieve the same
purpose experts say.
Creative
ways to include Orange Peels in Your diet
In this case it will be better if you
concentrate on using organic varieties if you'll be consuming orange peels.
Oranges and other citrus fruits, like lemons and limes, etc, are the major
foods that most typically would contain a couple of pesticide residue in their
outer peel especially like in places where pesticides are freely used in
packaging and preservation of fruits. And so you need to wash your fruits
thoroughly, even if it is plucked from the wild (organic) before consuming it.
![]() |
Orange peel for super skin health |
No comments:
Post a Comment