Why Health Benefits of Citrus Fruits Matter in Winter

One thing that always lifts our spirits this time of year is having a bowl full of juicy, sun-kissed, vitamin-rich citrus fruits on our kitchen counter. Citrus fruits, with their sweet and tangy juiciness and succulent flavors, are an absolute delight to eat or drink because the health benefits of citrus fruits can’t be ignored. In their own way, citrus fruits are nature’s perfect gift of color, flavor and nutrition. And it’s the health benefits of citrus fruits that make them a colorful addition to any family’s meal planning.

But curiously, the winter months brings us the greatest variety of vitamin-rich citrus fruits. Lemons, oranges, limes, grapefruits – these citrus fruits are nature’s way of keeping those winter colds and flus at bay. Because the health benefits of citrus fruits are nutritionally linked to your immune system.

Vitamin-Rich Citrus Fruits in Winter

Let me go back in time for a bit. It snowed in Portland recently, shockingly enough. A white blanket of almost 9 inches of snow covered the ground for the first time in years. The city shut down for a few days, schools closed, and most everyone stayed off the roads. The snow was pretty, for sure, but all that whiteness can be a little, shall we say, depressing. I knew that sooner or later one of my children could possibly catch a cold.

But then I walk into my kitchen and see the bowl of citrus fruits on the counter.

Colorful and sweet, my kids enjoy unlimited access to the fruit bowl and like to graze throughout the day when the mood strikes. I like knowing that they are getting a good amount of daily vitamin C from these vitamin-rich citrus fruits.

To boost our immune system to the max, and give our taste buds a little dance, we try to incorporate as much citrus as we can into our meals. Because feeding our families according to the seasons is the best way to get the greatest variety of nutrients into our bodies.

A Closer Look at the Health Benefits of Citrus Fruits

There’s no such thing as “too much of a good thing” when it comes to citrus. All the different types of citrus contain many of the same beneficial phytonutrients but in slightly different proportions. As a general rule, all citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C, acids, flavonoids and volatile essential oils. But they are also a good source of fiber, calcium, potassium, folate and vitamin A.

Anyway, the skin and membrane of citrus contain flavonoids, which give citrus fruits their color and just a touch of bitterness. Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants that can reduce inflammation in the body and may help prevent cancer.

Despite being chock full of so many nutrients, citrus fruits are low in calories, fat free, and also typically low on the glycemic index.

So, grab an orange off the counter and munch to your heart’s content. The health benefits of citrus fruits are totally worth it.

Where Do Citrus Fruits Come From?

This may not surprise you, but people enjoyed citrus fruits for hundreds of years. They belong to a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Wild citrus trees were first domesticated in southeast Asia some 2,500 years ago.

Citrus fruits are thought to have originated from just four ancestral wild species: the pomelo, the citron, the mandarin orange, and the more unusual, lime-like papeda. Over time, people developed numerous new citrus varieties. Today, the popularity of citrus continues to soar all over the world.

In the U.S., the warmer Sun Belt states, particularly Florida, California, Arizona and Texas (as well as Hawaii) grow most of the citrus we eat. All citrus fruits thrive in warm regions where the summers are hot and the winters are cool, but with temperatures that do not fall below freezing.

So as much as I would like to grow an orange tree in my Oregon backyard, it’s not likely to happen with all that snow on the ground! Guess I’ll have to experience the health benefits of citrus fruits by adding a few to my next Azure order!

Why Climate & Temperatures Matter for Citrus Fruits

We now know the health benefits of citrus fruits, but did you know that the climate affects the thickness of the peels, juice content and acidity? For example, oranges from hotter tropical regions tend to have thinner skin, more juice, less acid, and a paler color than oranges grown in cooler sub-tropical regions.

Regions where the days are hot and the nights are cool tend to produce the best-tasting oranges. The sugar forms during the heat of the day, and the acid develops during cool night temperatures.

Climate conditions also determine blooming in the different growing regions. Most citrus varieties only bloom once annually, but some bloom and produce fruit several times a year. In general, the smaller the fruit, the more often the tree can produce.

Some lemons and limes, for example, can produce up to four crops annually. Meanwhile the large navel orange and pomelo are limited to a single harvest per year. Fruit size depends on ripening times. Small fruits ripen in as little as a few months while larger fruits take 12 to 18 months.

I feel blessed to be able to enjoy the health benefits of citrus fruits in the dead of winter, and so should you.

Citrus Fruits are One of a Kind in Flavor & Nutrition

And each variety can be used in a multitude of vitamin C recipes that make use of the health benefits of citrus fruits. And yes, citrus fruits can even be used in homemade cleaners! Now let me tell you what’s in my fruit bowl at any given time during winter and how to use citrus fruits to their full potential.

Do you have a bowl of citrus fruits on your kitchen counter, just begging to be squeezed, juiced, peeled and enjoyed? What’s your favorite citrus fruit to cook with or snack on?