Colorado’s Best Drinks recently introduced two delicious sparkling water options – Citrus Water and Hibiscus Tea! You can't go wrong with either of our latest beverage choices, which both bring sweet and fruity flavor with every sip. Best of all, both of our sparkling water options have zero calories and zero grams of sugar per can, so you can satisfy your sweet tooth without ditching your diet.
With the recent introduction of these two fresh flavors, it's the perfect time to crack open a can of Sparkling CBD Citrus Water and explore the roots of its core citrus fruit components – and the ways they’ve grown and changed over the years. To celebrate our sublime new sparkling CBD water products, we’ve found some fascinating facts about limes and oranges that you won’t want to miss.
First, let's explore the distinctions between citrus fruits and alternatives, and three reasons why a little extra citrus could be a worthy addition to your diet.
What Sets Citrus Fruits Apart?
Everyone knows that it's important to eat enough fruits and veggies - but some varieties of both may be especially beneficial for your health or weight loss goals. Citrus fruits traditionally have thick, leathery rinds with sweet and juicy inner segments surrounding a white pith. Their origins can be traced to Australia, Oceania and regions of Southeast Asia. However, their range of production has since expanded to a number of other nations, including Brazil, Mexico, China, India and the United States. Limes are just one of many citrus fruits revered for their ability to grow year-round, with a peak period of May through December in the U.S. and throughout the Northern hemisphere.
Since citrus fruits can grow with relative ease compared to other options, fans can enjoy widespread availability and reasonable costs on many common citrus varieties including oranges, lemons and limes.
Citrus Fruits Are High in Fiber
A healthy fiber intake promotes digestive health. It may also make it easier to maintain a healthy weight or reach your weight loss goals. The United States Department of Health recommends that adults consume an average of at least 25 to 30 grams of fiber each day, or roughly 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories consumed. However, a 2016 study by the National Institute of Health concluded that only five percent of Americans reach that goal. According to their research, the average American adult consumes 16 grams of fiber per day – just half of the recommended goal.
Soluble fiber and insoluble fiber both naturally occur in many fruits and vegetables, and soluble fibers are the preferable type. Citrus fruits contain impressive quantities of fiber on average, and they are the only classification of fruits and vegetables to naturally contain more soluble fiber than insoluble fiber. For instance, a medium-sized orange with sixty total calories contains approximately three grams of fiber, just over two grams of which are soluble. Adding a few citrus fruits to your plate each day is an easy way to reach your recommended fiber goals with minimal changes to your daily calorie count.
They Pack in Plenty of Vitamins
According to registered dietician Katherine Zeratsky, adults should consume 65 to 90 milligrams of daily vitamin C. You’ll reach this goal with just a single cup of orange segments, which contains approximately 95 milligrams. Citrus fruits also contain magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, vitamin B and copper. With compositions rich in plant compounds, citrus fruits may also help to reduce inflammation and help to fight off cancer-causing cell growth through antioxidant effects.
They’re Low in Calories
If you’re trying to lose weight by cutting down on your daily calories, citrus fruits could help. There are typically less than a hundred calories per citrus fruit, and their high volumes of water and fiber can help you to feel fuller throughout the day. One 2015 study by the National Institute of Health studied the dietary choices and body compositions of the same sample group of individuals over twenty four years of life. The research found evidence of a significant link between citrus consumption and achieving or maintaining a healthy weight.
These health benefits aren't the only things to love about citrus fruits! Grab an orange (or a can of Sparkling CBD Citrus Water) and savor the following nine fun facts about two delectable citrus fruits.
All About Oranges
Love Oranges? Thank Florida
Florida’s official state flower is the orange blossom, which has been the case since 1909. The orange is also Florida’s designated state fruit, which took effect much more recently in the year 2005. As you may have guessed, oranges comprise a significant portion of the state’s crop production and outsourced oranges are a significant source of revenue. In fact, roughly seventy percent of the nation’s oranges are grown in the state of Florida – and ninety percent of those Florida oranges are used to make orange juice.
Etched Into History
In 1919, the California Fruit Growers Exchange burned “Sunkist” onto the surfaces of their oranges, allegedly as a preventative measure against theft by rival farmers. With this small act, they became the first group to trademark a fresh fruit, adding a historic feat to oranges’ legacy.
America is Number…Four!
Think the U.S. is number one in orange production? Think again. American orange production comes in fourth globally with 4.66 million metric tons produced in the 2019-2020 marketing year (which ended in July). Brazil produces more oranges than any other nation on Earth, with 15.62 million metric tons of oranges produced in the same timespan. Brazil’s annual orange production outweighs the combined production of the second and third leading nations worldwide.
Vitamin C, Anyone?
Many of us love oranges for the sweet, juicy flavor in every bite. However, the indulgent taste isn’t all that there is to love about the citrus staple. Oranges are one of the leading sources of Vitamin C per serving. According to data from the Center for Disease control, a medium orange containing seventy milligrams of Vitamin C per serving – seventy-eight percent of the average adult’s daily recommended value. In other words, when that sweet tooth hits, consider biting into an orange for a healthy alternative to your go-to chocolatey guilty pleasures.
Oranges by the Numbers
More than six hundred varieties of oranges exist worldwide. A single citrus plant, including these hundreds of orange plant varieties, may have up to sixty thousand flowers. However, only one percent of those flowers will fully blossom into the citrus fruits we know and love. Fear not, orange lovers – with more than forty million tons of oranges produced annually last year, there’s no shortage of your favorite fruit and no signs of it disappearing. With so many options across the globe, it’s no wonder that oranges are one of the most popular fruits in existence today.
Now It's Time for All Things Lime
Limes By the Dozen
While limes of every variety are generally grouped together as a single category of fruit, there are more than a dozen distinct types. Limes of every subtype share a few key characteristics – they’re globular or oval-shaped, with a small nipple at one end, and a yellowish-green color when ripe. Most limes are grown on various types of citrus trees, growing natively in multiple continents across the globe. Two lime varieties aren’t classified as members of the “citrus” genus of scientific classification. The wild lime – a member of the flowering plant genus Zanthoxylum – is native to the Southern United States and throughout many regions of Central and South America. Similarly, Spanish limes are members of the genus Meliococcus (also comprised of flowering plants). Despite the striking resemblance of wild limes and Spanish limes to limes of virtually every other variety, neither type is officially considered a citrus fruit.
Top-of-the-Lime Production
Persian limes, key limes and kaffir limes are the most widely produced types of limes internationally. 19.4 million tons of limes were produced in 2018 – with India, Mexico, China, and Argentina cumulatively producing more than half of the global total. These nations traditionally top the charts as the world's leading lime producers. While the rates of annual lime production fall pretty flat in most other countries, limes and other citrus fruits are beloved on nearly every continent as staples of many cuisines and citrus-flavored cocktails.
Oh, Blimey – Those British Limeys!
In our modern-day society, limes are generally valued for their unique flavor and tongue-curling zest. However, they were once a cultural mainstay for much more pragmatic reasons than the added pleasure or pucker they’re known to bring to our favorite recipes. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, British sailors relied on a daily state-sanctioned allowance of limes to help prevent the scourge of scurvy. This potentially deadly disease is caused by a serious lack of vitamin C. Sailors were often stationed on ships for months at a time without access to varied and fresh foods, making malnutrition nearly inevitable – and an outbreak of scurvy among the nation’s armed forces could have serious implications for the entire country’s safety. With their relatively low-cost and low-maintenance cultivation, impressive shelf life and high concentration of vitamin C, limes could be simply and affordably stocked before months-long voyages – a brilliant strategy on Britain's part. The military closely guarded their secret green weapon for years as an upper hand over enemy nations also facing scurvy. Once the world learned about the British navy’s decades of daily lime consumption, members of the British naval forces were teasingly nicknamed “limeys.”
Small and Sour with Fragrant Flowers
Limes can easily be distinguished by the distinctive flowers they produce. These are characteristically small and star-shaped, arranged in clusters with a pleasing aroma. The flowers of citrus limes may be white or yellow, depending on the type of lime tree and the regions in which they’re grown. Limes are revered for their ability to bloom and produce fruit throughout the year, making them a scenic seasonal addition to the landscapes of their native nations. Lime trees in the Northern hemisphere typically produce the most flowers and fruit between the months of May and September.
Limes May Be Sour, But Their Benefits Are Sweet
It’s no secret that for such small fruits, limes pack a serious punch. Our (purely anecdotal) research shows that just a few drops of freshly squeezed lime juice can cause immediate, unambiguous face-scrunching in people of every age. However, their taste isn’t the only way they’re seriously impactful – a single, medium-sized lime contains more than a dozen valuable vitamins and minerals. A lime that’s two inches in diameter contains almost 20 milligrams of vitamin C with just 20 total calories per fruit. As such, nutrients include over 20% of adults’ daily recommended intake of vitamin C, along with 2% of recommended iron, calcium, fiber, thiamine and vitamin B6. Many nutritionists and other health professionals routinely recommend citrus water for dieters and all health-conscious individuals to maximize nourishment without exceeding a healthy caloric intake.
No Matter How You Slice It, Citrus Is Worth Celebrating!
If you haven’t already tried our delicious sparkling CBD water and soda options, now’s the time to do so! You can order a twelve-pack or a forty-eight pack of Sparkling CBD Citrus Water or our other delicious products today in our Sparkling Shop. We'll bring a case to your doorstep – ready to savor straight from the can, poured over ice, or blended into delicious cocktail recipes. Like our five classic CBD soda flavors, all seven sparkling CBD water and soda flavors are vegan, non-GMO, and free of gluten, sodium and preservatives. All seven of our CBD beverage options are made with phytocannabinoid-rich, broad spectrum hemp extract. Better yet, each refreshing sparkling CBD water and soda flavor is vegan, non-GMO, and free of gluten, sodium, and preservatives – and you’ll taste that sweet simplicity with every sip.