Health Benefits of Oranges
The vitamin C in oranges helps your body in lots of ways:
- Protects your cells from damage
- Helps your body make collagen, a protein that heals wounds and gives you smoother skin
- Makes it easier to absorb iron to fight anemia
- Boosts your immune system, your body’s defense against germs
- Slows the advance of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss
- Helps fight cancer-causing free radicals
Fiber. The 3 grams of fiber in a medium orange help keep your bowels healthy, your cholesterol and risk of heart disease low, and ulcers at bay. Fiber also slows the way your body absorbs sugar — a big bonus if you have diabetes.
Calcium. Oranges are high in this important nutrient, which keeps your bones, organs, and muscles strong.
Folate for moms and babies. Oranges are a great way to get a big dose of folate naturally. Your body uses it to divide cells and make DNA. Because it helps prevent birth defects, it’s an especially important B vitamin for pregnant women.
Good sugar. The 12 grams of sugar in an orange are all natural. That’s different from the kind of sugar you’d get in a candy bar. Plus, all the fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants that come with an orange make it a much better choice for your body. Choose raw oranges, which have less sugar than the dried kind.
Potassium. This nutrient lowers your blood pressure, and oranges have a bunch of it.
Citric acid and citrates. These compounds help prevent kidney stones from forming.