Oranges are Rich Source of Vitamin C and Many Other Nutrients
Eating oranges or drinking orange juice provides instant energy to feel refreshed. Oranges low in calories with no sodium or cholesterol food offer multiple health benefits to your skin and immune system.
Though more people drink orange juice than eating oranges, you should be aware that orange is more beneficial than the orange juice for two reasons. One, the orange has dietary fibre in the pith, the white layer between the peel and the pulp which gets partially lost in the juice. The second reason is that eating oranges is low in calories compared to drinking orange juice.
1 medium size Orange provides 70 milligrams recommended dietary allowance of Vitamin C which protects against cell damage by the free radicals produced when oxygen is used by the human body.
Nutrition Facts About Oranges
Following nutritional facts about orange are based on 100 grams of consumption of orange.Daily Values shown are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Orange just adds 47 Calories per 100gram.
- Potassium - 181 mg 5%
- Calcium- 4%
- Magnesium- 2%
- Total Carbohydrate- 12 g 4%
- Dietary fiber- 2.4 g 9%
- Sugar - 9 g
- Protein- 0.9 g 1%
- Vitamin A- 4%
- Vitamin C -88%
- Vitamin B-6- 5%
Oranges are generally available during winter season through the summer so get the best of oranges by eating one or two Oranges everyday during the season. Oranges imported from other countries are available throughout the year, so if you love oranges you can get them anytime of the year.
Health Benefits of Oranges
An orange has hundreds of phytochemicals and dozens of flavonoids to provide anti inflammatory and strong antioxidant capabilities. The flavonoids rutin , hesperidin and many others help to prevent and retard tumor growth.
You cannot ignore the following health benefits of oranges to include orange in your everyday food intake.
Protects Against Cancer
Vitamin C prevents DNA mutations from taking place. This reduces risks of all kinds of cancer and particularly colon cancer.
Improves Vision
Though oranges are associated with Vitamin C, they are also rich in vitamin A. The compounds like lutein beta-carotene and zeaxanthin help in age related macular degeneration which causes incurable blurred vision.
The vitamin C also helps in reducing the risk of cataracts
Lowers Cholesterol
Here, eating the orange will be more beneficial than drinking orange juice although both will help in reducing cholesterol. Orange rich in fibre as compared to the juice provides the most benefits
Orange reduces the bad cholesterol LDL which is the main cause of plaque deposits in the arteries leading to heart diseases.
Reduces Blood Pressure
Potassium in orange also helps to reduce your blood pressure by improving the Sodium Potassium ratio in the body
Our modern lifestyle and eating habits have pushed us to consume more sodium which causes fluid retention in the body. This extra volume of fluids increases blood pressure which results in development of heart diseases.
This problem of excess sodium in the body gets multiplied as most of us do not eat enough potassium. The combined effect of this disturbes the required Sodium Potassium ratio. Eating an orange or two daily will improve this ratio.
Reduces Heart Diseases
The cholesterol reduction is explained above already improve your heart conditions but potassium, chlorine and Vitamin C are also very helpful to your heart conditions
Lack of potassium can also lead to irregular heartbeats. Irregular heartbeats for a prolonged period reduces your life expectancy
Prevents Kidney Diseases
Once again the potassium plays a vital role as the high Sodium Potassium ratio can cause kidney stones and Kidney Disease.
Fights Viral Infections
The polyphenols in oranges helps to protect you against viral infections
If you eat 1 or 2 oranges daily then your risk of catching viral infections significantly reduces as compared to someone who does not eat oranges at all.
Relieves Constipation
Soluble dietary fibre in oranges help to reduce constipation and improve digestion which intern also helps to reduce weight
Oranges are low fat and high nutrient food with low glycemic index. All these capabilities help in weight reduction.
Protect the Skin
Vitamin C helps to keep your skin beautiful. It fights the ill effects of your skin exposure to Sun and pollution
Vitamin C also helps to produce collagen which reduces wrinkles and delays signs of aging by maintaining the overall texture of the skin.
Lowers Blood Sugar
High fibre content of oranges help in reducing blood sugar levels.
The sugar in orange is simple sugar like in any other fruit. As long as you consume it in moderate quantities it doesn't increase your blood sugar levels.
Other Benefits and Precautions
While consuming an Orange or two everyday is highly beneficial in most cases, you have to be a little cautious In certain cases to ensure that potassium levels are not exceeded daily value.
If you are taking beta blockers to control your blood pressure then you have to be careful about your potassium contents as beta blockers increase potassium in your blood and so does the orange. More than required potassium can damage your Kidneys
If you experience symptoms of gastroesophageal Reflux disease GERD frequently then oranges may cause heartburn.
The bottom line is orange is a very powerful nutritional fruit to provide you instant energy and many other long term health benefits. Eat them daily and don't get over indulging in it.
It is not the pulp alone, Orange peel is also an edible substance, however they are difficult to digest and they are not as tasty and juicy as the orange pulp.
Unless it is inorganic orange the orange peel would have absorbed lots of chemicals and pesticides, so be careful in consuming Orange peel. However orange peel has found its strength in skin protection and it is widely used in various skin and face masks.
So you see the entire orange including the orange peel, pith the white layer between the peel and the pulp are all healthy. Take advantage. Eat them regularly and use the peels to benefit your skin. Orange peels are also used in many recipes.