Does Citrus Do for your Brain what it Does for your Sinuses?
by Delaney Wofford
The other day a few of us were standing around the office, talking about the citrus for this cycle and the health benefits we’d learned it offers. The question came up. We know citrus has brilliant impact on our bodies’ immune systems, but does it carry any brain-boosters as well? It made sense; with something that had as much health-power, it seemed reasonable to suspect there might be more good news, even if it was a bit less well known.
It was time for me to play detective, and open an investigation to find out just how much of our theory was valid. And it didn’t take too much digging for me to crack the case.
How it works: In your brain, there are things called “free radicals”. Basically, they are a waste product that is released when you cells are converting nutrients into energy. The bad news is, free-radical build up can basically spread through your body, causing damage as it goes. It’s a lot like rust on a car. And that’s where the citrus comes in to save the day.
Citrus is high in antioxidants, as we are already familiar with. Antioxidants hunt down free-radicals and destroy them before they have a chance to start piling up, destroying your cells, and inhibiting the brain’s proper function.
Citrus also has the amazing power, (possibly because of it’s ability to destroy free radicals) of protecting against the dying off of nerve cells in your brain. It protects against neurodegeneration, which, just to make it perfectly clear, leads to dementia.
So, just to sum up:
