ORANGE PEEL

Women are famous for their lamenting over the shortcomings of their bodies. One of them – voiced “loud and clear” is the orange peel syndrome, commonly known as cellulite. In this syndrome, the protein fibres forming the “scaffolding” of the skin are very loosely woven, while the fat cells attached to them accumulate excess blubber, so that ultimately there appear on the skin hollows and the skin texture takes on the appearance of orange peel.
In such a case, it seems logical that, in order to address the whole problem, it should be sought on the one hand to intensify the building and accumulation of proteins and, on the other hand, to degrade and eliminate fat. Thus, we see that, while they pursue other goals, women may benefit from some similar supplements as those used by athletes, since it often happens that in sports preparation programmes we seek to simultaneously accumulate proteins and eliminate fat.
Nature seems to confirm the views of eighteenth-century physician, Hahnemann, who recommended to fight like with like... As most recent studies show, the most effective remedy for cellulite, and one of the most effective means of exercise supplementation may be the orange peel!

MOST ACTIVE INGREDIENTS

As it currently believed, orange peel owes its activity primarily to three groups of nutrients: polyphenols, terpenes and amines. They all have a special characteristic – they elevate the level of a very valuable substance in the body – cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). It is valuable for the body condition and shape because cAMP is responsible for the body's capacity to work. It activates the cerebral cortex, strengthens the heart and muscles, dilates the bronchi and blood vessels in the working muscles. At the same time, it breaks up fat reserves for energy production and builds muscle proteins for strength gain. Thus it appears that it is largely owing to cAMP that an athlete may build their body and statuesque shape. It is also evident that consumption of foodstuff increasing its level by women with body shape problems is absolutely appropriate, since it facilitates the firming of muscles under the skin, improvement of skin protein weaving and elimination of fat reserves – which ultimately means the smoothing of skin dimples, proper tension and smoothing of the skin.

GARDENS AT THE FOOTHILLS OF THE HIMALAYAS

The Greek myths called the inhabitants of the land lying beyond the edge of the world known to ancient Greeks, the Hyperboreans. Somewhere in this land there lived beautiful nymphs – daughters of Atlas and Hesperis – the Hesperides. They occupied themselves with gardening, and in their beautiful gardens golden apples ripened.
The first person to associate the mythological fruit with real ones, although exotic, was the Italian botanist, Ferrari, in his work of 1646 dedicated to orangery (hothouse) plants, entitled “Hesperides”. And what could European rulers grow in orangeries? ... Well, the very name provides the answer: oranges.
The cradle of these fruit is India – precisely the northern areas of this land, located on the slopes of the Himalayas. But oranges were known in China as early as the 3rd millennium BC. Hence, news of them could reach Greece by the ancient silk route and become the core of the myth of golden apples and the Garden of the Hesperides.
But physically, oranges were brought to Europe by the Arabs in the 10th century, when they were still overlords of the Iberian Peninsula. It was then that a famous Arabic physician, Avicenna, introduced them in medicine. Oranges started to gain consumer popularity as late as in the era of Portuguese conquest in the 15th century, when it proved the favourite fruit of Portuguese sailors in foreign lands. For this reason, the Europeans got to know it first under the name of “portokal”.
Until the end of the 17th century, oranges have been grown only in hothouses, and almost not used at all for consumption, but only as a medicine. In fact it was in compliance with the old recipes of Avicenna, who recommended the extract obtained from its pericarp (thick peel) mainly for gastric problems. Since visceral pain is caused by contraction of smooth muscles of the digestive tract, the most effective remedy in such cases are antispasmodic agents. And these act by elevating the cAMP levels, among others in muscle layer of internal organs. It is precisely because of this that the extract from bitter oranges has until recently been the primary remedy for gastric problems. By relaxing the muscles of gastrointestinal tract, the extract alleviates flatulence and colic, as well as facilitates the release of bile from the gallbladder.
For similar reasons, oranges are indicated as the primary antiasthmatic foodstuff, alleviating the bronchial smooth muscle tension.

THE BEST ORANGES

The juicy orange flesh that we eat contains a limited amount of active ingredients, because they accumulate mainly in the thick peel, pericarp – and even here in small quantities in the dessert varieties, although in abundance in the peel of the medicinal and spicy variety: the bitter orange.
The cAMP-active ingredients of the fruit reach the brain to a limited degree only and act primarily in peripheral tissues. For example, caffeine, another popular stimulant of cAMP, used in exercise supplementation and in weight loss diets, is such a strong stimulant because it operates evenly in all tissues, including the cortex. For supplementation, it is even better, since a strong lipolytic (de-fatting) effect after taking the orange extract can be achieved without excessive stimulation. For example, one of the abovementioned orange amines – synephrine – is the most selective, acting almost exclusively within the body adipose tissue.
But this does not mean that orange extracts are completely devoid of psycho-stimulating activity. They have a clear antidepressant effect, and for this reason the consumption of oranges, all their processed products and preparations, as well as citrus fruit in generally, is prohibited in patients treated with psychotropic agents, as it is associated with excessive stimulation.
Healthy individuals may also become clearly stimulated by large quantities of oranges, this is why moderation is advised in eating them before bed. In view of this particular effect, many dieticians recommend two cups of fresh (squeezed personally) grapefruit or orange juice in the morning, instead of one cup of coffee.

THE DIET OF WOMEN AND ATHLETES

Extracts from the peel of bitter orange are combined with tea extracts and other stimulators of cAMP in modern dietary supplements facilitating the body fat reduction, such as OLIMP Thermo Speed or OLIMP Therm Line. However, nothing stands in the way for the sports menu to also include citrus fruit, because even though they contain only small amounts of cAMP activators in comparison with the extracts of bitter orange, if consumed regularly and routinely, they can help to shape the figure and form.

Green tea should be mentioned at this point, which for some time now has remained the favourite beverage of athletes from bodybuilding disciplines. It includes two other cAMP stimulators – epigallocatechin gallate and caffeine. However, if you have a problem with drinking 12 glasses a day, which is the amount that, in the light of scientific research, clearly reduces fat reserves and accumulates protein, you can “deal with the problem” with four capsules of a highly concentrated tea extract – OLIMP Green Tea.

It should of course be noted that similar dietary recommendations also apply to women struggling with the orange peel syndrome...
 

Sławomir Ambroziak