Summary
Given the well-known links between poor diet and cardiovascular disease, and the consistent epidemiological evidence supporting fruit and vegetable intake, researchers examined whether daily orange-juice consumption could improve cardiovascular biomarkers in adults with elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. Twenty-four participants drank 20 fl oz of freshly squeezed orange juice every day for 90 days without changing their usual diet, while researchers monitored blood pressure, lipid profiles, antioxidant capacity, metabolic hormones, inflammation, and lipid peroxidation. Most clinical markers—including blood pressure, cholesterol panels, metabolic hormones, body fat, and inflammatory indicators—remained unchanged. However, two meaningful improvements emerged: total plasma antioxidant capacity rose significantly, and lipid peroxidation—a process that contributes to oxidative damage in blood vessels—declined. These findings suggest that while orange juice did not shift traditional cardiovascular risk markers in this relatively short intervention, it did enhance antioxidant defenses and reduce oxidative stress, offering potential protective benefits for cardiovascular health.
PMID: 24476220.
DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2013.0034
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the world and is the primary cause of mortality among Americans. One of the many reasons for the pathogenesis of CVD is attributed to eating diets high in saturated fat and refined carbohydrates and low in fruits and vegetables. Epidemiological evidence has supported a strong association between eating diets rich in fruits and vegetables and cardiovascular health. An experiment was conducted utilizing 24 adults with hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia to evaluate the impact of drinking 20 fl oz of freshly squeezed orange juice daily for 90 days on blood pressure, lipid panels, plasma antioxidant capacity, metabolic hormones, lipid peroxidation, and inflammatory markers. Except for addition of drinking orange juice, subjects did not modify their eating habits. The findings suggested that drinking orange juice does not affect (P>.1) blood pressure, lipid panels, metabolic hormones, body fat percentage, or inflammatory markers. However, total plasma antioxidant capacity was significantly increased (P<.05) and lipid peroxidation was significantly decreased (P<.05) after orange juice consumption. Drinking orange juice may protect the cardiovascular system by increasing total plasma antioxidant status and by lowering lipid peroxidation independent of other cardiovascular risk markers evaluated in this study.
Foroudi S, Potter AS, Stamatikos A, Patil BS, Deyhim F. Drinking orange juice increases total antioxidant status and decreases lipid peroxidation in adults. J Med Food. 2014 May;17(5):612-7. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2013.0034. Epub 2014 Jan 29. PMID: 24476220.