Death-Defying Food: Oranges

When you really get down to it, one of the main objectives of life is to stay alive for as long as we can. On average, we occupy a place on this planet for about 75 years. Some of us hang around for a little longer, while others take an earlier ferry. Still, barring any unfortunate accident or contraction of a terminal illness at a younger age, 75 seems to be the norm.

Keeping your stay on this wonderful world of ours from being cut short sometimes requires a good amount of work (regular exercise, adequate amounts of sleep, stressing less, etc.). However, there are also some easy ways to prevent early departure, many of which involve nothing more than a revised grocery shopping list. For the next eight days, we'll offer one death-defying food choice each day to help keep you healthy and happy for many more years to come.

Death-Defying Food #2: Oranges

Having higher levels of vitamin C in your bloodstream can greatly reduce your risk of stroke, according to an article recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This comprehensive study (which included 20,649 British men and women) revealed that people with the highest level of vitamin C had a 42 percent lower risk of stroke than people with the lowest levels. Even when outside variables -- such as age, sex, smoking, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, exercise habits, etc. -- were controlled for, these findings remained the same.