Why you must eat an orange every day
Oranges are packed with nutrients like calcium and vitamin C, which offer a wide range of benefits for your body, skin, and hair. However, there’s a right way to reap these benefits. Eating oranges at random times or exceeding recommended daily intake might not be ideal. This article delves into the benefits of oranges and guides you towards incorporating them effectively into your diet.
1. What’s the nutritional value of oranges?
Oranges are rich in vitamin C, vital for tissue growth, collagen formation, iron absorption, and immune system support. Their high fiber content promotes digestive health, preventing issues like constipation, IBS, diabetes, obesity, and heart-related diseases. Oranges also provide folate, a vitamin B compound essential for DNA/RNA production, WBC/RBC formation, and energy transformation. Folate deficiency can lead to symptoms like fatigue, muscle weakness, mouth ulcers, vision problems, and depression. Additionally, oranges contain potassium, calcium, and thiamine.
2. Is it better to drink orange juice as compared to eating the fruit?
Drinking juice is not healthier than eating the fruit, even if freshly extracted. Regular juice consumption can lead to a rapid spike in blood sugar levels, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Store-bought fructose-based juices may elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and liver issues. Supermarket juices undergo multi-step processing.
A glass of orange juice contains more calories and carbohydrates than an orange, with double the calories of the fruit. Additionally, juice has a lower proportion of fiber, leading to quicker digestion and leaving you less satisfied. This may result in consuming more juice and more calories than intended.
3. What are the different types of oranges?
- Navel oranges
These oranges are sweet – and slightly bitter. You can identify one through a mark at the bottom of the fruit resembling a belly-button. One of the most common types of oranges, they’re perfect for juicing (due to their inherent sweetness) as well as adding to salads (due to a lack of seeds). You can eat them raw as well.
- Cara cara oranges
These are sweeter than navel oranges. Cara Cara oranges, red-fleshed in nature, are like a cross between a blood orange and a navel orange. They’re also sought after for their low acidity levels, and are perfect accompaniments to snacks, juices, and raw dishes.
- Blood oranges
This crimson-fleshed orange is added to cocktails and preserves because of its colour. They’re smaller than navel oranges but bigger than tangerines. There are 3 types of blood oranges – Moro, Taracco, and Sanguinello. They’re perfect for sauces, salads, and marmalade.
- Seville oranges
These oranges are bitter in nature. And they’re used in the preparation of marmalade, salad dressings, and sauces. Because they’re acidic in nature, they’re not eaten as snacks. They’re used for cooking instead.
- Lima oranges
Also known as acidless oranges, lima oranges are extremely sweet with negligible acid. Their skin is thicker in nature, and they contain seeds, but they’re perfect for snacking on raw, because of how soft and juicy they are.
- Mandarin oranges
Even though they’re referred to as oranges, mandarins aren’t oranges at all. Oranges, interestingly enough, are a hybrid of pomelos and mandarins. Mandarins are small and sweet with a flattened appearance, making them perfect for salads and snacks.
- Clementines
Clementines don’t contain any seeds. And they’re popular for their sweetness. They’re smooth and glossy in appearance. They’re not as acidic as other oranges. This makes them very easy to snack on.
- Tangerines
Tangerines are small, sweet, and snackable. They’re just like clementines – just less sweeter and with more seeds. They have a soft and thin skin, making them easy to peel. They’re also very high in vitamin C.
- Tangelos
Tangelos have tight skin, and they’re not easy to peel. But they’re juicy, sweet, and tart on the inside. And even though they might be tough to eat raw, they’re perfect for juicing.
4. How do you add oranges to your diet?
You can consume one orange every day – in the morning, evening, or after a workout. Or incorporate the fruit into your diet in other ways. Add slices of the vitamin C-laden fruit to your go-to salad. A platter replete with oranges, kiwis, strawberries, and apples. Just add a dollop of honey, a pinch of chilli powder, and a dash of lemon to spice it up. And if you’re fond of greens, add a few boiled leaves of spinach to a cup of oranges, and conclude by sprinkling a little salt as well as mango powder over the mix.
Do you like lemonade? Combine freshly-squeezed orange with freshly-squeezed lemon, and you have yourself a beverage complete with a tangy twist.
Benefits of oranges
- Reduces risk of heart diseases: Contains vitamin C, flavonoids, and carotenoids.
- Protects against chronic diseases: Citrus fruits help against diabetes and certain cancers.
- Improves iron absorption: Vitamin C enhances iron absorption, reducing anemia risk.
- Boosts immune system: Rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and nutrients.
- Heals wounds faster: Promotes collagen production, accelerating wound healing.
- Strengthens bones and muscles: Contains calcium and potassium.
- Promotes youthful skin: Antioxidants protect skin and vitamin C reduces hair loss.
- Improves eye health: Vitamin A maintains healthy mucus membranes and prevents blindness.
FAQs
What is the best time to eat an orange?
It’s best not to eat an orange – or any citrus-y fruit – right after a meal. This will lead to an increase in acid formation in the stomach, and result in heaviness and digestion-related issues – along with minimising the absorption of nutrients. The best time of the day to eat an orange is in the morning or as a snack in the evening; and the worst time is to eat one right before bed. You don’t want to go to sleep with a heavy stomach, do you? It’s ideal to slip a fruit into your diet in the morning – since your stomach is empty, absorption of the fruit’s nutrients is optimum. You can snack on one before or after a workout to refuel your body as well.
Is it healthy to eat an orange every day?
Remember that moderation is key. Even though consuming oranges is a healthy practice, and the fruit is packed with a lot of benefits, you mustn’t over indulge. The fibre content in oranges can affect digestion, trigger abdominal cramps, and lead to diarrhoea; but eating one orange a day can boost your immunity, improve the appearance of your skin, maintain your vision, prevent heart-related diseases, reduce the development of ulcers in the stomach, prevent loss of hair, and so much more.
What are the side-effects of eating oranges?
As mentioned previously, it’s never wise to consume anything in excess – especially a citrus-y fruit laden with vitamin C that’s heavy on the stomach. If you’re eating too many oranges every day, you might experience side-effects like diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, heartburn, bloating, cramps, and insomnia. There are certain disadvantages associated with oranges as well – apart from causing issues in the stomach, they can lead to a spike in blood sugar levels, and trigger acid reflux.
