Orange Juice Vitamin C Recipe

Health Benefits of Orange Juice and Nutrition Facts

Orange juice is an excellent source of vitamin C, as are all types of oranges including clementines and satsumas.

Other good sources of vitamin C include:

• lemons and limes
• grapefruits
• pineapples
• all types of berries
• peppers
• raw green vegetables
• tomatoes
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• cabbage

The Benefits of Oranges

Oranges and orange juice are famous for their high vitamin C content and their ability to boost the immune system and aid the body in fighting off viruses such as the common cold. In larger doses the vitamin C in orange juice works as an antioxidant - it delays aging and age related diseases such as arthritis and Parkinson's disease. It also works as an antihistamine aiding allergy suffers, and helps to remove toxins from the body.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a water soluble vitamin that is easily destroyed by cooking and freezing. It is essential to the human body as discovered in the 18th century when citrus fruit was found to treat and prevent scurvy on long sea voyages.

Our bodies use vitamin C to produce collagen a structural protein that holds the body together. It prevents bleeding gums, hastens the healing of cuts, and strengthens blood vessels and capillaries helping to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Vitamin C also aids the absorption of iron, preventing anemia.

Orange Juice Vitamin C Recipe

A freshly squeezed glass of orange juice is a lovely way to start the day. I enjoy the speed of an electric citrus juicer when making lots of orange juice for all the family.

Ingredients    Makes about 250ml or 1 cup of juice

• 4 oranges

How to Make

1. Halve the oranges.
   
2. Juice and serve in a tall glass.

Orange Nutrition             Orange Juice Facts

As well as being an excellent source of vitamin C orange juice contains vitamin A, potassium, calcium, and phosphorous. It even contains small amounts of all the essential amino acids which the body can use to make and repair healthy muscles.

A 250ml glass of orange juice (1 cup) contains:

• 124 mg of Vitamin C
• 496 iu of Vitamin A
• 496 mg of Potassium
• 27 mg of Calcium
• 42 mg of Phosphorus

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for Vitamin C is 60mg for healthy non-smoking adults. This is commonly accepted to be an absolute minimum.

A large orange contains roughly 100 mg of Vitamin C, and a small orange contains roughly 50 mg.

For more orange juice nutrition facts go to the USDA National Nutrient Database and enter "raw orange juice".

Calories in Orange Juice

So how many calories in orange juice? Well 100 ml of orange juice contains a mere 45 calories, and a cup of orange juice contains 112 calories. This means my 250ml glass of orange juice contains only 112 calories.

Best Juicer for Oranges

The right citrus juicer for you will depend on how much juice you want to make, how strong your wrists are, plus how much you want to spend.

Manual Citrus Juicer

The fastest, cheapest way to make smaller amounts of juice is to simply juice oranges by hand using a simple manual citrus juicer. I use a two part plastic one that collects the juice from two oranges in the bottom part, while straining and storing the pips in the top part.

The advantages of this method include:

• Quick to make small amounts.
• Only need to cut oranges in half.
• Easy clean up.
• Makes a nice sweet juice enjoyed by young and old.

The disadvantages include:

• You need to have strong flexible wrists.
• Not great for large amounts of juice as wrists tend to get tired, and it can become tedious.

For larger amounts of juice and those with weak wrists an electric citrus juicer is a good idea, and children enjoy these too. If you have a food processor it may already come with a citrus juicer attachment.

Another option is a manual citrus press. These have a handle that brings down a 'lid' that squeezes half an orange against the strainer. This saves your wrists, and I had one that I used a lot when my wrist was sore. The main disadvantage I found was that the juice didn't contain any of the pulp, though for some this may be an advantage? They also tend to be less efficient, producing less juice per orange.

Samson Masticating Juicer

I love to make orange juice with my Samson Juicer which I have just discovered makes fabulous citrus juice.

Advantages:

• You can juice the white pith too which contains beneficial bioflavanoids.
• Easy on the wrists!
• It makes a lot of juice.

Disadvantages:

• Have to peel the oranges, rather than halving them.
  You soon get very efficient at this. I use a sharp knife to score round citrus fruit, and then peel the skin off in large quarters.
• Takes a little bit longer than a manual citrus juicer.
• When you juice the pith as well the juice created is tarter - less sweet. While I enjoy the bitter sweetness this creates, my son prefers the sweeter juice from the manual and electric citrus juicers.

Best Juicer

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