Opulent Orange Foods for Parkinson's Disease

Navigating life’s speedbumps while managing Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be overwhelming at times, especially if you have additional health concerns. But including the regular consumption of orange foods can offer health benefits to PD, your heart, brain, and whole body! Work towards your best health, one orange-filled bite at a time.

Reap the benefits of these brightly colored foods for bountiful benefits for your brain and body. These options are abundant in antioxidants—plant-based compounds that help ward off disease. They gain their orange color from carotenoids, which are associated with improved immune function and cancer-fighting properties.¹

How can they help?

In particular, apricots, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, and oranges have antibacterial and immune-boosting properties. Orange foods such as mangos and carrots also contain beta-carotene, which can decrease oxidative stress by reducing free radical damage to help improve your vision and heart health.¹

It also can protect your skin from aging! So, skip the fancy creams and opt for orange foods (especially pumpkin) to get glowing skin.

But wait, there’s more! Bioflavonoids, found in peaches, nectarines, and clementine, can decrease the progression of arthritis and reduce your risk of developing certain cancers, including lung, stomach, bladder, and breast.¹ Plus, they equally have cardiovascular and vision health benefits.

Protect with pumpkin

Pump up the pumpkin to protect your health! It’s an easy and convenient way to elevate the flavor profile of any dish. Whether you are craving sweet or savory tones, pumpkin has its place! Stock up your pantry with BPA-free canned options to avoid any negative neurobiological effects.²

Don’t forget to always include a healthy fat when eating orange foods to help increase the carotenoid availability in your body. Check out these delicious ways to add pumpkin to your diet.

• Try canned pumpkin in your favorite marinara, tomato soup, or pasta dishes with crispy sage.
• Mix in warmed canned pumpkin with baked apples, cinnamon, walnuts, maple syrup, and a few dollops of vanilla yogurt.
• Enjoy canned pumpkin with a frozen ripe banana, vanilla extract, milk, cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg.
• Mix some canned pumpkin into your overnight oats with chia seeds, opal apples, walnuts, and cinnamon.
• Add into muffins, bread, pancakes, waffles, or no-bake bites.
• Enjoy it in a healthy crustless pie.

Benefits of carrots

For those who carrot about their health, this veggie is a must! It’s a crunchy, colorful root vegetable that contains high amounts of luteolin—a phytonutrient that can bypass the blood-brain barrier.³

While more research in humans is needed, it may play a protective role in neuroinflammation.³ If so, it could reduce age-related memory deficits and inflammation in the brain. Keep calm and carrot on with these tasty options.

• Drink carrot juice in moderation. Storytime: I once drank carrot juice so often — my palms turned orange, and I was diagnosed with hypercarotenemia.
• Shred carrots into veggie pancakes, salads, and fritters.
• Try carrot fries instead of French fries.
• Create savory bread, muffins, and cakes.
• Steam them for a sweet dinner side.
• Go extra crunchy, and buy crinkled carrots to enjoy in a Greek yogurt dip.
• Enjoy them roasted with garlic and herbs. Skip the veggie prep and put the whole carrot on the tray with a light coat of oil.

Incorporate citrus

These foods will become your new main squeeze. Tangerines. Clementines. Kumquats. Cara Cara. The tropical possibilities are endless. Personally, I love sumo because they are super easy to peel. After all, the citrus fruit struggle is real.

But, if you have trouble peeling an orange, use your hands to roll it to help loosen the skin from the fruit. Add zest to your diet with these citrus-filled ideas.

• Try sliced blood oranges in a salad with fennel with a sweet balsamic dressing.
• Bake oranges with cinnamon and nutmeg. Enjoy them warmed in oats or yogurt. Yup, I’m recommending heating oranges. It’s tastier than it sounds.
• Mix fresh orange juice with vanilla yogurt to make your own dreamy creamsicles.
• Make a homemade polenta orange cake for a double dose of carotenoids.
• Try orange zest in whole grain non-bake bites made with tahini.
• Enjoy a clementine, sumo, or satsumas as an on-the-go snack. Because of their loose skin, they’re easy to peel!
• Add citrus juice to bubbly water for healthy hydration.

Most Americans don’t get enough orange or green foods. Take on the orange challenge! Try committing to eating two additional servings a week of these tasty beneficial foods.