Healthy Fiber Foods
Oranges

Dense nutrition and delicious flavor make oranges one of our favorite healthy fiber foods.

For Your Health

A healthful source of vitamin C, the popular orange is also an excellent source of fiber, folate, vitamin B1, and potassium. This fiber food has over a hundred important phytonutrients that supply polyphenol, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant compounds known to offer protection against cancers and heart diseases.

One research group in Australia reports positive effects associated with citrus consumption that cross a broad range of diseases:

That list makes eating an orange appear to be good for almost everything.

Here is a list of a few of the nutritional compounds in this fruit responsible for various health issues. Research continues to associate particular compounds with specific health benefits.

Health Issue	What an Orange Provides
Respiratory Health	beta-cryptoxanthin
Rheumatoid Arthritis	carotenoids, zeaxanthin, Â-cryptoxanthin
Oxidative Cell Damage	flavanoids, anthocyanins, hydroxycinnamic acids
Cancer Risk	limonoids, various antioxidant elements
High Blood Pressure	herperidin, potassium
Iron Absorption	vitamin C
Less Cholestrol Plaque	polymethoxylated flavones, limonoids
Cardiovascular Disease	folate, homocysteine, potassium, vitamin C, carotenoids flavonoids
Obesity, Weight	low fat, low calorie, dense nutrition, dietary fiber

In a Heart Healthy Diet

Oranges are plentiful in most markets year around. Look for fruit that is firm, without soft spots.

Color can range from light to dark orange, depending on variety of fruit and conditions of growth. Uneven color can be natural and a fruit showing partial green tones can be ripe. Some non-organic fruit can have skin injected with color dye to improve appearance, so choosing an orange by color is difficult.

Oraganic fruit is preferred when buying oranges because pesticide residues are often found on oranges marketed in the United States.

Wash the outside of fruit and store whole in a cool location. Refrigerate after fruit is peeled, cut, or sliced.

Orange juice is available in refrigerated containers, frozen concentrates, and various size cans and boxed packets. Canned and frozen packages of fruit sections are also available.

Compare
1 medium fruit	Valencia	Navel
Calories	59 kcal	69 kcal
Fiber	3.0 g	3.1 g
Protein	1.26 g	1.27 g
Calcium	48 mg	60 mg
Iron	0.11 mg	0.18 mg
Magnesium	12 mg	14 mg
Potassium	217 mg	232 mg
Zinc	0.07 mg	0.11 mg
Vitamin C	58.7 mg	82.7 mg
Folate	47 mcg	48 mcg
Lutein + Zeaxanthin	–	181 mcg
g=gram, mg=milligram, mcg=microgram