As there are several advantages of using citrus fruits for your skin care. Fruits of the citrus family commonly include oranges, grapefruits, limes, and lemons. Most of these fruits originated in South Asia and are now cultivated worldwide.
Citrus fruits are super rich in vitamin C, which gives them an edge over other fruits and also helps address many skin troubles. This article discusses the benefits of citrus fruits for your skin and health and their side effects. Keep reading.
What Are Citrus Fruits?
Citrus fruits are fruits produced by plants belonging to the Rutaceae genus. They include fruits like oranges, grapefruits, limes, and lemons. All of them have a high citric acid content. These fruits are typically round or elongated, with a juicy, fleshy pulp surrounding their seeds.
The peel of most of these citrus fruits is leathery. The outermost layer of these fruits is called ‘zest’, which is used to prepare many desserts, especially for its flavor. The peel is covered underneath with white, spongy pith.
Typically, you will find citrus fruits separated into segments after peeling. Do you know those white hair-like things you pick off of an orange slice before popping it into your mouth? These strands provide nutrition to the fruit as it grows.
It was initially believed that these fruits originated from Southeast Asia. But recent studies suggest that citrus fruits have their origin in Australia, New Caledonia, and New Guinea.
You have to peel these juice-laden fruits before consuming them. You can eat them raw or even drink their juice. They are also used to make marmalades and pickles. Acidic citrus fruits, like lime, are served as garnishes for many dishes and are also a must-have ingredient in cocktails.
Citrus Fruits – Rich in Nutrients
Besides being delicious, these fruits are also a treasure trove of nutrients. Yes, these fruits are chock-full of nutrients that provide health benefits. If you are weight conscious and would like to avoid calories, you would be happy to know that citrus fruits are relatively low in calories. A medium-sized orange usually contains about 60 to 80 kcal, while a grapefruit would have about 90 kcal.
The simple carbohydrates found in citrus fruits are sucrose, glucose, and fructose. In terms of dietary fiber, you can find these fruits contain pectin that binds with cholesterol and helps flush it out of your body.
Do you know that – the one nutrient that citrus fruits are most famous for providing is vitamin C or ascorbic acid? A medium orange manages to give you 130 percent of the daily requirement.
Other vital nutrients provided by citrus fruits include folate, potassium, lycopene, vitamin B6, magnesium, niacin, thiamin, and phytonutrients.
Since these fruits contain such a wide variety of nutrients, it is evident that they provide a range of benefits for your health, skin, and hair.
Citrus Fruits Needed for Great Skin
Citrus is a sweet treat for the senses. The taste and scent help to invigorate the mind, body, and soul. Additionally, when applied to the skin in treatments and products, citrus boasts anti-aging and skin-saving benefits. It helps brighten your skin, tighten the pores, and increase skin radiance.
Vitamin C extracted from these fruits has been used for decades in skin care products. They offer immediate and effective benefits such as glowing, toned skin, and brightening, as in the case of hyperpigmentation.
In addition, citrus-based products are beneficial for use as cleansers. The scent is attractive, but it can also provide an all-over effective revitalizing treatment. In summary, its use can give you a glowing, brighter complexion.
Some of the most common citrus fruits found in skin care products today have numerous benefits.
- Grapefruit helps rejuvenate and brighten your skin and fight off free radicals providing anti-aging benefits.
- Lemon is the most acidic, but it is highly effective in treating hyperpigmentation and brightening the skin. It also helps fight against acne.
- Lime is beneficial in treating dark spots and acne.
- Mandarin improves skin tone and helps prevent sun damage.
- Orange is among the least acidic, and it is excellent for exfoliating and detoxifying skin to achieve a smoother texture. These fruits also contain vitamins C and E and zinc and antioxidants, which are ideal for acne-prone or oily skin types.
- Tangerine smooths and brightens skin and helps prevent and treat acne.
- Pomelo fruit contains enzymes that help remove dead skin cells.
Do Citrus Fruits Have Any Benefits For The Skin?
As you might be aware, citrus fruits are known for their high vitamin C content and their refreshing fragrance. The citric acid present in these fruits helps kill bacteria and other pathogens on the skin, making your skin feel fresh and clean. They occupy a unique space in aromatherapy because of their fragrance.
A few fantastic skin benefits of citrus fruits include the following:
1. Keep Your Skin Looking Young
When it comes to skin health, vitamin C benefits tops the list. These are right on top of the list of nutrients that you need to keep your skin looking young. Ascorbic acid is essential for your body because it helps regenerate collagen.
Collagen is responsible for maintaining the consumption of citrus fruits. It becomes even more important here because the amount of collagen reduces in our skin with aging, and our body cannot naturally produce it.
2. Exfoliate Your Skin
Are you bothered by your clogged pores and all the dead skin on your face? Then, orange peels are here to your rescue! The coarse peel of this citrus fruit is filled with vitamin C, which is an excellent exfoliating and cleansing agent. It clears all old, dead skin cells and shrinks pores to leave your skin looking clear and glowing.
3. Reduce Pigmentation
Pigmentation and dark spots occur when your skin is exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays when you go out. Exposure to UV rays depletes the antioxidants in your skin, which causes oxidative damage.
Vitamin C in citrus fruits will prevent UV-induced photodamage and pigmentation. For this purpose, you can either consume citrus fruits or apply their juice topically. Both the methods are beneficial.
Do Citrus Fruits Have Any Benefit For The Hair?
Who does not love shiny, soft, and long hair? It is that one nutrient that can help you achieve the hair of your dreams – vitamin C. You must know which fruits are filled to the brim with this magic nutrient. Yes, these are citrus fruits, of course.
Some of the amazing hair benefits of citrus fruits include:
4. Prevent Hair Loss And Strengthen Hair
Along with the host of other things that it does, vitamin C is primarily responsible for collagen production in your body. As you might know, collagen is the component that provides structure and strength to your hair and prevents it from breaking.
So load up on those vitamin C-rich citrus fruits as the human body does not naturally produce this nutrient.
5. Fight Dandruff
When applied to your hair, the acidic nature of lemon juice aids in deep cleaning your scalp and gets rid of all dandruff. It also reduces the dullness in your hair, thus making it look shinier and thicker.
What Are The Benefits For Health?
Citrus fruits are super low in calories and are beneficial for weight watchers and diabetic people. Additionally, they do not contain any saturated fats or cholesterol that might harm your health. Citrus fruits can also help flush toxins out of your body.
Some of the amazing health benefits of citrus include:
6. Work Wonders For Weight Loss
Yes, when you pair with a low-calorie diet, these fruits like oranges and lemons work brilliantly in helping you lose weight. Probably because aside from being low in calories, these fruits also have a high water and fiber (fiber rich foods) content that makes you feel full and prevents you from feeling hungry.
7. Lower The Risk Of Stroke In Women
Here is some good news for all of you. A recent study found that fruits like orange and grapefruit contain components called flavonoids. Flavonoids help reduce ischemic strokes in women by a staggering 19 percent.
That is an important reason to keep eating citrus. But what you need to understand is that you should eat the fruit rather than drinking their juice. Eating the fruit will ensure you obtain the maximum amount of flavonoids from the fruits.
8. They protect against cancer
A study conducted at Harvard confirmed that citrus fruits contain components like folate, flavonoids, vitamin C, and carotenoids that significantly reduce the risk of esophageal cancer.
Vitamin C and a specific type of flavonoid (nobiletin) found in citrus fruits – are supposed to be antiangiogenic. It means that they prevent the formation of new blood vessels that might help spread the cancer cells to other areas of your body.
Additionally, women also had fewer chances of developing epithelial ovarian cancer. Those women who consumed citrus fruits, owing to their flavonoids. According to the American Cancer Society, citrus is also helpful in lowering the risk of stomach cancer.
So, you see, citrus fruits are the key to good health, beautiful skin, and strong hair. Hope now you have more reason to bite into this juicy delight of these amazing fruits!
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