ORANGE BIGGEST SOURCE OF VITAMIN C
Oranges are tasty fruits packed with nutrients. They are known for being juicy and sweet, and many people enjoy them fresh or as juice. Sweet lovely orange trees started in China thousands of years ago. Today, they are grown in many places worldwide, including the United States, Mexico, and Spain. Oranges are full of important nutrients, including Vitamin C, fiber, folate, potassium, and antioxidants. This article covers almost all the information you need to know about oranges, including their nutritional value, health benefits, and more.
TYPES OF ORANGES
1. NAVAL ORANGES
Navel orange is one of the most popular varieties worldwide. It was named Navel because of the belly button-like mark on the bottom end. They grow typically in the winter months. These seedless oranges are ideal for culinary preparations. These have a very balanced acidic sweet taste and have bright skin very easy to remove making them a great choice for eating fresh as a snack or for juice.
2. Valencia Oranges
Valencia oranges are famous for their unique sweet and tangy flavour. They grow from spring to winter. They are full of juice so specially used for juicing and for fresh salads, and are ideal for spicey and savory dishes in the form of orange sauce with beef stake or for tangy salsas.
3. Blood Oranges
Blood oranges derived the name from their deep blood red colour which develops from the warm days and cool nights in the Mediterranea region where they are cultivated. There is a season from the winter through spring. These are beautifully colored inside like deep red, maroon, and purple and sometimes have burgundy streaks or even deep purple. These are freshly used in salad, stir-fried with chicken, or garnished in cocktails with a beautiful variety of colors and slightly tart and sweet taste.
4. Cara Cara Oranges
Cara Cara oranges are a type of Navel orange, with pinkish-red colour because of their pigmentation, they are also sweet and seedless and are good sources of fiber. Fiber reduces the risk of diabetes and supports gut health. These oranges are used in salad, sauces, fresh juices, jams, and marmalade and in baking.
5. Mandarin Oranges
Mandarin oranges originated in China. These are smaller and sweeter than normal oranges, that’s in season from November through April. They are usually eaten as snacks because they have soft peel which is easy to remove and are seedless.
6. Seville Oranges
Seville oranges are from Southeast Asia, and Seville, Spain from where they earned their name throughout the world. These are recognized differently because of their bitter-sweet taste. They are often used to make marmalades, jams, sauces, and juices. Their zest and peel are also used in marmalade. These oranges are also used in fragrances, cosmetology, and medical applications.
7. Jaffa oranges
Jaffa oranges are a specific type of sweet oranges originated in Jaffa, a port city in Israel. Known for their rich flavor and juiciness, they have distinctive thin skin and are typically seedless.
Oranges are packed with vitamin C, often giving you more than 100% of your daily needs in just one. This vitamin helps keep your immune system strong and your skin healthy. And they’re super easy to eat, peel and enjoy.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE
A medium-sized 140grams orange has around 70 calories
Fiber 3grams
Sugar 12grams
Protein 1gram
Fats 0
Sodium 0
Vitamin A 14 micrograms
Vitamin C 70milligrams
Calcium 6% of your daily recommended amount
Potassium 237milligrams
Carbohydrates 15.4grams
Eating food high in fiber, such as oranges, can lower the risk of heart disease, colon cancer, and obesity. Fiber helps with digestion and keeps you feeling full longer, which helps manage weight. So, enjoying oranges is a delicious way to boost your fiber intake while reaping their health benefits. Oranges are rich in important nutrients, particularly vitamin C and folate.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF ORANGES
1. HEART HEALTH
Heart disease is the top cause of early death worldwide. Oranges are packed with nutrients like vitamin C, flavonoids, and carotenoids that can help support heart health and lower the risk of heart disease.
Eating oranges and drinking squeezed orange routinely may assist with lessening coronary illness risk factors. Studies have demonstrated the way that squeezed orange can lower:
Blood sugar
LDL (bad) cholesterol
C-reactive protein (CRP), which indicates inflammation
Adding oranges to your diet is a tasty way to help keep your heart healthy!
2. AGAINST CHRONIC DISEASES
Eating oranges and other citrus fruits can help lower the risk of health problems, like some cancers and diabetes.
Concentrates on show that an eating routine high in citrus organic products might lessen the risk of:
Lung cancer
Mouth cancer
Stomach cancer
Head and neck cancer
Also, eating more fruits, including citrus, can help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. So, enjoying oranges is a delicious way to support your health!
3. ANEMIA
Eating food varieties high in L-ascorbic acid, similar to oranges, can assist with forestalling weakness, which happens when you need more iron. While oranges don’t have much iron, their vitamin C helps your body absorb iron from other foods. For instance, one study found that adding 120 grams of orange to meals with rice or lentils increased iron absorption by about 10.7%. You can take a stab at adding a little squeezed orange to lentil or bean dishes or placing orange fragments in spinach plates of mixed greens to help your body with getting more iron.
4. IMMUNE SYSTEM
Eating fruits, which are full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, can help keep your immune system strong. Oranges and other citrus organic products are particularly great wellsprings of L-ascorbic acid. Vitamin C is important for immune cells and helps get rid of old, damaged cells so your body can replace them with healthy ones. It also protects against damage that can weaken your immune health. Oranges have other helpful compounds, like hesperidin and naringenin, that reduce inflammation. Since long-term inflammation can harm your immune system, eating anti-inflammatory foods is a good idea. Plus, oranges provide fiber, which helps keep your gut healthy.
5. SKIN REJUVENATION
Oranges are great for your skin! They can make your face look bright and help lighten dark spots and acne scars. They cleans the skin deeply and make it fresh. Assuming you have touchy or aggravated skin, involving oranges in your skincare can be useful. Assists your body with creating collagen, a protein that mends wounds and makes your skin smoother.
6. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
Oranges help reduce inflammation in your body. Some foods can make your immune system think it’s under attack, which leads to long-term inflammation. This can cause serious health issues like diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. But oranges can help lower inflammation and keep you healthier.
OTHER HEALTH BENEFIT
Oranges help fight cancer-causing free radicals, which are harmful substances in the body. Vitamin C in oranges can also lower your stress hormone cortisol and reduce blood pressure when feeling anxious. Citric acid and citrate in oranges can help prevent kidney stones from forming.
FIBER CONTENT
You can take a stab at adding a little squeezed orange to lentil or bean dishes or placing orange portions in spinach servings of mixed greens to assist your body with getting more iron. Since juice has less fiber, it doesn’t fill you up as much. This makes it easy to drink too much juice compared to eating whole oranges. Drinking too much fruit juice can lead to extra calories, which isn’t good for your health.
CONCLUSION
Oranges are a popular fruit, and they’re both delicious and healthy. They’re a great source of vitamin C and other important nutrients. Some studies show that eating oranges regularly can help lower the risk of health problems like heart disease. In simple terms, oranges are a great choice for a healthy diet!
