Orange you glad I'm asking?

[DotfromOz]

Okay, enuf groaner puns...Couldn't resist that one, tho! ;)

Anyway, I've read that most of the good-for-ya stuff in oranges and other citrus fruits is associated with the white membrane that encloses each segment.

I really like using a knife to peel oranges and then section them out once I've cut off the membrane to get to the juicy part. Much faster and easier than peeling each orange by hand.

Am I losing a lot of nutritional value doing that? I've never much liked the white membrane, but I can sure get to like it if I'd be getting lots more nutrition from an orange by peeling by hand so as to leave it on.

[Revvell]

this is the best I've found so far ~
Orange Citrus sinensis
Citrus as a genus are not represented in Africa - although there is one obscure, very Citrus like member of the citrus family present, and that is Citropsis daweana. The Mozambique 'Cherry Orange' is a small tree of riverine valleys with citrus smelling leaves, and small, probably edible fruit. So when we radiated to South East Asia, thru Myanmar (Burma) and into Eastern India (the possible place of origin of the sweet orange), we would have been meeting wild citrus not too different from Citropsis, except larger and more edible. The wild ancestral form of the sweet orange hasn't been found. Edibility is fairly widespread in the citrus as a group, with quite a few of the 35 or so species being a potential food item. But the sweet orange is one of the best. The first historical record of the orange is in Chinese writings from 4,400 years ago.
As with most citrus and other good things, the rise of agricultural settlement and both land and sea trading between Europe, the greater Mediterranean through South West and South Asia to China, resulted in the spread of the orange into all these areas. Small citrus groves and protected 'orangeries' of the 'noble' courts were well established in suitable European climates from at least 2,000 years ago. Spanish and Portuguese explorers carried the orange to the 'new world' colonies in the Caribbean Islands and South America in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Late in the eighteenth century citrus culture was already established in Florida, and just introduced into California. The orange was introduced to Australia by the British colonizers in the nineteenth century, and from Australia to New Zealand shortly after.


Today, of course, orange growing is big business, and carried out on a vast scale. This means reasonably priced fruit for the consumer. Oranges travel well, can be cool stored to extend their availability, and some varieties store 'on the tree' in the orchard for quite a while, further extending the season. Most oranges are actually used to make orange juice and other products, with only about 20% of the USA crop, at least, going on the fresh market.


Research into orange growing continues, and one of the more interesting developments, from the nutritional point of view, is the increasing number of 'blood' oranges being grown. These have anthocyanins in the juice, giving a red look to the flesh. Although noone appears to have investigated the matter, it would be reasonable to suspect that they would have increased antioxidant value.


One orange will meet about 20% of an adults daily folate needs, as well as being an excellent source of vitamin C - one orange supplying just over the entire US recommended daily intake (60mg for an adult).
Oranges have natural plant chemicals ('phytochemicals') called 'monoterpenes' in their skin that both protect against cells becoming cancerous, and help fight existing cancers. At least, as studied in laboratory mice - but there is no reason to think these chemicals wouldn't be active in humans. One monoterpene, d-limonene, comprises more than 90% of the oil in orange peel. Unless they are certified as 'organically grown', commercial citrus may have been dipped/sprayed with anti fungal chemicals to prevent storage rots (they may also be dyed to heighten the color, and waxed with a vegetable derived wax to heighten the appearance). Therefore it is advisable to select only organic fruit to chew on the peel. It is unknown if the tumor fighting chemicals survive heat and processing when marmalade is made


Recent tests on the anti-oxidant effectiveness of various commercial fruit put oranges at number five in effectiveness against damaging oxidative processes in cells.


Scientists have recently identified several bioflavonoids from citrus that inhibit certain cytochrome P450 enzymes. One cytochrome enzyme, P450 1B1, can activate cigarette smoke, pesticides and other substances ( 'procarcinogens') in the body to become carcinogens. Hesperetin, the most abundant bioflavonoid in the juice of oranges, has been found to inhibit P450 1B1 from metabolizing procarcinogens, significantly reducing the opportunity for them to be converted into carcinogens.

(It doesn't mention the white stuff specifically ~ (just quickly browsed it) yet, I remember my mother saying something about it and also, having read about the peel at one time and "trying" to get us to eat it. Yeah, right!)

From this site ~ http://www.naturalhub.com/natural_food_guide_fruit_common.htm

Injoy ~

Revvell