The Way of the Flesh

There is one good way ensure that eating sweet orange will not cause stomach hyperacidity. And there is one reason more...

ONLY recently did I learn that my mother had been wondering why each time she saw me eating sweet oranges, I ate the whole segment—juice and all—instead of extracting just the juice alone and throwing away the pulp with the peel.

The reason why I do that is a fruit of observation (pun intended). I noticed that the flesh is somewhat alkaline in the presence of its bitter taste, compared to the acidic (sharp) taste of the juice. While of better composition than synthetic juice, fresh raw juice can still stimulate unwanted reactions in the stomach of those who are sensitive to it. And for many years I have avoided eating sweet oranges for that reason. Of course that’s before I noticed the alkaline character of the orange flesh.

Recently I read three studies from early 2000s (2004, 2005 and 2007) revealing that there is more to eating citrus flesh than its alkalinity. The flesh of citrus fruits as well as their skin contains a large amount of pectin, a complex sugar that appears as soluble fibers. Citrus peels contain 30 percent pectin while crunchy-skinned fruits such as apples, guavas and apricots contain between one and 1.5 percent.

Pectin binds to dietary cholesterol in the gastrointestinal tract preventing from entering the blood circulation. The action also slows down glucose absorption by trapping the carbohydrates for excretion to the stool. These effects have significant impact in managing hypertension and blood sugar levels.

In addition to that, microorganisms in the large intestine and colon degrade... [READ MORE]

This article appears in SunStar Cebu newspaper on 24 April 2013.

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