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Even here in Maui the price of oranges will probably skyrocket as most grocery stores import them instead of using local grown.

Reports are coming in that as much as 40% of the world’s orange juice supply (mainly from Florida) may be destroyed thanks to the global deep freeze we are currently experiencing. (necn.com)

Will 2010 be remembered as the year without oranges? Hard to say. It does sound, however, like there’ll be less of them around. And those you do see may cost a lot more than they do now. A lot more.

Some people are wondering how they’ll survive. Will you get scurvy? Where will you get your vitamin C?

First off, less orange juice on the planet is probably a good thing. Most of what lines the shelves of supermarkets has been cooked, deoxygenated, artificially flavored, frozen, transported great distances, kept in storage for months, dehydrated and then reconstituted into something that doesn’t even resemble orange juice. It’s questionable how much benefit anybody gets from most commercial orange juice.

Manufacturers could probably whip up some artificially flavored sugar water substitute for orange juice and nobody would notice the difference (sort of like what Ocean Spray did to cranberry juice).

Until I came to Maui and ate oranges fresh off the tree, I didn’t realize the huge difference.

Secondly, drinking lots of orange juice isn’t the greatest. Yes, a big glass of freshly squeezed OJ may be loaded with immune boosting vitamin C – but the high sugar content can suppress your immune system even more. Yes, its natural sugar, but still sugar.

Now a little orange juice in your diet, if you like, is fine. Don’t worry. It won’t make you diabetic. But pouring tall glasses of the butchered Tropicana variety won’t do you much good.

Best way to consume your oranges is by peeling them and chewing them. This way you get the fiber. You also get the bioflavonoids (the white part of the orange) which you don’t get when drinking it. Many researchers believe that vitamin C won’t do you much good unless you also get the bioflavonoids. That’s where the term  ”vitamin C complex” comes from. The juice contains mostly the ascorbic acid part of the picture.

So if you’re use to drinking lots of orange juice, switch to just an orange a day. And if the food crisis is as bad as many predict – you may have no choice.

Now, if orange prices really do spike you may want to skip eating them altogether. There are plenty of other alternatives.

Other food sources of vitamin C and my top recommended sources of non-synthetic vitamin C supplements are contained in Volume One (formerly called Module One) of Future Health Now! If you haven’t already, click here to download a copy of volume one for free.

P.S. More than just oranges were harmed by the deep freeze. Food scarcity could be a big issue this year. Yet another reminder that we need to stock up on healthy non-perishables. Check out My 911 Experience in New York for more details.

P.P.S. The people of earthquake-stricken Haiti are currently facing a catastrophe that makes our orange juice crisis laughable. Consider joining NaturalNews in  support of the International Rescue Committee’s deployment to the devastated city of Port-au-Prince. Click here to read Mike Adam’s pledge request or click here to make a donation (even $10 will help).

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