SQUEEZE MORE LIFE
New research suggests that your everyday citrus could help you squeeze out extra zest as you grow older. The future’s orange
Add more segments to your fitspan with an extra serving of the most festive fruit
Though once considered an exotic luxury, citrus fruit won’t fill you with much excitement if you catch sight of it in your stocking this Christmas. An Apple Watch will impress, but an orange most certainly will not. But the latter’s life-extending properties make it a gift that keeps on giving.
Nutrition scientists at the South China University of Technology tested the effects of supermarket bought oranges on nematodes – tiny, transparent organisms commonly used in anti-ageing research – by adding different concentrations of orange extract to a test solution. They noticed that the higher the concentration to which the nematodes were exposed, the longer they survived.
Compounds in the festive fruit inhibit the “ageing gene” age-1 and increase the production of detoxifying and protective enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. When released, these enzymes get to work cleaning up aggressive molecules, preventing them from damaging cells. But that’s not all. The MAPK pathway is also activated, encouraging healthy cells to develop, grow and divide. And, of course, oranges are full of vitamin C, which stimulates the production of collagen to help keep your skin supple.
If you’re too old for stockings, well, there’s always the small chance that a top-up of Buck’s
Fizz will help, too.