Hello Guys, Thanks for visiting our website. Today we will know about the “Amazing Health Benefits of Eating Oranges” and we will also know how whole orange is better than orange juice. So let’s dig into the topic and read in brief.
Oranges are a low-calorie, high-nutritional citrus fruit. Oranges contribute to strong, clear skin and can help lower a person’s risk of many conditions when consumed as part of a healthy and varied diet.
The variety of this heartthrob fruit can be your culinary secret, a part of your beauty regime, or even used to adorn wedding cakes. Let us investigate the nutrients that this golden fruit has to offer. It is available in over 600 varieties around the world.
Nutrition
The following is a nutritional breakdown for 1 orange (140 grams):
- Calories: 66
- Water: 86% by weight
- Protein: 1.3 grams
- Carbs: 14.8 grams
- Sugar: 12 grams
- Fiber: 2.8 grams
- Fat: 0.2 grams
- Vitamin C: 92% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Folate: 9% of the DV
- Calcium: 5% of the DV
- Potassium: 5% of the DV
Oranges contain a lot of fiber. One orange (140 grams) contains approximately 10% of the DV.
Getting enough fiber on a daily basis is important for overall health because it supports regularity and feeds your beneficial gut bacteria. Furthermore, fiber-rich diets are linked to a variety of health benefits, including lower risks of heart disease, colon cancer, and obesity.
Health Benefits of Eating Oranges
Oranges’ nutrients provide a variety of health benefits. These advantages are discussed in greater depth in the sections that follow.
Cancer
Oranges, as an excellent source of the antioxidant vitamin C, may aid in the prevention of cancer-causing free radicals.
Although adequate vitamin C intake is necessary and beneficial, the amount required for the desired therapeutic effect on cancer is greater than most people can realistically consume.
One study, for example, concluded that in the future, medical researchers could harness the power of vitamin C from oranges to inhibit colorectal cancer cells. The authors do admit that 300 oranges worth of vitamin C would be required.
Blood pressure
Oranges have no sodium, which helps people stay under their daily sodium limit. A cup of orange juice, on the other hand, can increase daily potassium intake by 14%.
Maintaining a low sodium intake is critical for blood pressure control. However, increasing potassium intake may be just as important for lowering a person’s risk of high blood pressure because it can help support blood vessel relaxation and opening.
According to the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), increasing potassium intake can lower the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.
Heart health
Heart disease is currently the leading cause of death worldwide.
If consumed at optimal levels, a number of nutrients and plant compounds found in oranges, such as vitamin C, flavonoids, and carotenoids, may help promote heart health and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Furthermore, eating oranges and drinking orange juice on a regular basis may help reduce risk factors for heart disease.
One review of ten high-quality studies discovered that drinking orange juice reduced several risk factors for heart disease, including levels of:
- blood sugar
- LDL (bad) cholesterol
- the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP)
Diabetes
A medium orange (131 g) contains 3.14 g of fiber, which accounts for nearly 10% of an adult’s daily fiber requirement. Several studies have discovered that fiber can improve some of the factors that contribute to the development and progression of diabetes.
One 2019 study, for example, discovered that taking 4 g of dietary fiber supplement per day did not lower blood glucose levels but did improve how the body responds to insulin. Diabetes can be exacerbated by low insulin sensitivity.
Obesity and being overweight can both contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes, so weight control is also important. Because fiber is processed more slowly by the body than other nutrients, it can help people feel fuller for longer and reduce their desire to snack throughout the day.
Skin
Consuming enough vitamin C can aid in the maintenance of skin health and appearance.
Vitamin C aids in the production of collagen. Collagen provides skin support, promotes wound healing, and increases skin strength.
According to the findings of a 2015 study, dietary vitamin C improved how people perceived their skin’s health and how healthy it actually was, including appearance, wrinkling, elasticity, and roughness.
Anemia prevention
Consuming vitamin C-rich foods may help prevent anemia, a condition that occurs when your body does not have enough iron.
Although oranges are not high in iron, they are high in vitamin C, which improves your body’s ability to absorb iron.
According to one study, adding 120 grams of orange to meals consisting of rice or flatbread with lentils or a greens-based dish called saag increased iron bioavailability by up to 10.7%.
May help support immune health
Consuming fruits, which are high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant compounds, on a regular basis can help promote healthy immune function.
Oranges and other citrus fruits are high in vitamin C.
This nutrient is essential for the proper functioning of immune cells such as natural killer cells. It is also required for apoptosis, a process in which old, damaged cells die and are then cleared out and replaced with new healthy cells.
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that aids in the prevention of oxidative damage, which otherwise can negatively affect immune health and increase disease risk
Many other compounds in oranges, such as hesperidin and naringenin, are anti-inflammatory.
Whole oranges vs. orange juice
Orange juice is one of the most popular juices in the United States.
It’s sweet and refreshing, and it contains a variety of important nutrients and plant compounds.
Although both orange juice and whole oranges are nutritious, they differ in several ways.
Fiber content
One of the primary distinctions between pure orange juice and whole oranges is that juice contains significantly less fiber.
One cup (248 mL) of pure orange juice has nearly double the calories and nearly twice the sugar of a whole orange. Furthermore, orange juice contains far less fiber than whole oranges, making it far less filling.
As a result, fruit juice is far easier to consume in excess than whole oranges. Drinking too much fruit juice is bad for your health because it contributes to excessive calorie consumption.
Added sugar
Furthermore, some orange juices contain added sugars, which you should limit for optimal health.
Although quality orange juice can be a healthy choice when consumed in moderation, eating whole fruit more frequently is a better option.
Good day, and welcome to Fitthour. My name is Shubham Vijay, and I am a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach with 6 years of experience in the fitness industry. At Fitthour, we specialize in types of training, such as strength training, cardio, or HIIT, and our mission is to help clients achieve their fitness goals and improve their overall health.