Stress Management

Cardiovascular Health

Orange Juice May Be Good For Your Heart

(November, 1999) Researchers suggest that drinking three glasses of orange juice a day increases your good HDL cholesterol and lowers your chance of getting heart disease.

Researchers from the University of Western Ontario in London found that flavonoids and limonoids present in orange juice increases the body's HDL cholesterol (so called "good" cholesterol) level, which helps wash out the LDL cholesterol ("the bad" cholesterol) from your system. Other citrus juices, such as grapefruit, also contain these biochemicals. Orange juice is also a good source of Vitamin C.

In this study, patients with high cholesterol began by drinking one glass of orange juice daily for four weeks, eventually consuming three glasses daily for four weeks. The patients then did not drink any juice for five weeks and had their cholesterol tested again.

The results showed that while LDL cholesterol did not go down, the average HDL cholesterol level rose by 21 percent and the ratio of HDL to total cholesterol decreased by 16 percent. The combination of raising HDL cholesterol and lowering the ratio are known to reduce the risk of heart disease.

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