Florida's citrus farmers boost America's ranking. In fact, Florida itself is the second-largest producer of oranges in the world, following Brazil. Primary varieties of Florida oranges include navel, hamlin, pineapple orange, and Valencia. Scientists at the Florida Department of Citrus invented frozen concentrate orange juice in 1945.
For years, Americans have been told that eating five servings of fruits and vegetables per day can provide numerous health benefits. However, experts say that most Americans fall short of that goal, eating just over two servings of fruit and vegetables per day, on average. Worse still, many Americans believe that they're getting their vegetables when they eat french fries, ketchup, potato chips and salsa.
A study published in the October 6 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that drinking a glass of orange or grapefruit juice every day may lower the risk of stroke by 25 percent. Health experts hope this will spur Americans to make some improvements to their diets.
What makes this latest study different, is that while it found that increasing overall fruit and vegetable consumption could reduce stroke risk up to 30 percent, it actually identified two foods as being particularly effective at reducing stroke risk -- B citrus juices, like orange and grapefruit juice, and cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in America, and is the number one cause of adult disability. And while someone suffers a stroke every minute of every day in this country, 80 percent of all strokes are actually preventable. The JAMA report is evidence that choosing the right foods plays a big part.
So, where do other states rank in production of these healthy fruits? The National Agricultural Statistics Service has compiled the following information based on production.
| State | Rank | Crop | Harvested Acres (000) |
Production in Boxes (000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FL | 1 | Early Mid and Navel | 328.90 | 134,200 |
| 1 | Valencia oranges | 296.00 | 92,000 | |
| 1 | All oranges | 624.90 | 226,200 | |
| CA | 2 | Early Mid and Navel | 124.00 | 40,000 |
| 2 | Valencia oranges | 75.00 | 28,000 | |
| 2 | All oranges | 199.00 | 68,000 | |
| TX | 3 | Early Mid and Navel | 7.50 | 1,300 |
| 3 | All oranges | 8.70 | 1,420 | |
| AZ | 3 | Valencia oranges | 4.50 | 600 |
| 4 | Early Mid and Navel | 4.70 | 400 | |
| 4 | All oranges | 9.20 | 1,000 |
For the past 10 years, per capita consumption of fresh oranges in the U.S. has remained between
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