Oranges are really popular in China. Whether they are ugly oranges that are bigger than a fist or sugar oranges that are too small for each bite, they have loyal fans everywhere from the three eastern provinces to Yunnan, Guangxi, and Fujian. Even elementary school textbooks have their traces: in Bing Xin’s “Little Orange Lantern” and Zhu Ziqing’s “Back View”, they both play important roles!
However, being too famous will inevitably attract a lot of discussions. There are many “rumours” about oranges in the rivers and lakes. Here are a few of the most popular ones, and experts are invited to give the correct interpretation.
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01
Oranges are rich in vitamins, should you eat more for your health?
Nutritious and high in sugar!
The content of vitamin C (referred to as VC) in citrus fruits is usually 20-30mg/100g, which is higher than that of the other two fruit stars in winter – apples (1-5 mg/100g) and pears (4-8mg/100g). Much more. As a prosperous line in the citrus family, oranges are full of water, soft and tender flesh, sweet and sour, and the price is affordable. In winter when fresh fruits and vegetables are not so abundant, popularity is inevitable: basically a medium-sized orange, It can meet half of the child’s daily VC needs. Moreover, citrus is also rich in potassium, carotenoids, as well as hesperetin, naringenin, etc., all of which are beneficial to health. However, no matter how nutritious food is, it must be eaten in quantity.
In the case of oranges, the problem is that they have a little too much sugar. The average sugar content in oranges is 11.9%, and if you encounter sweeter varieties, it will be higher. Moreover, because oranges can be eaten without washing and peeling, and the taste is soft, it is easy to “eat too much accidentally”. These oranges will not be low in energy intake!
According to the recommendation of my country’s dietary guidelines, the average adult eats about 200-350 g of fruit per day, which is about 2-3 medium-sized oranges when converted to citrus. If you really like to eat it, it is not a big problem to eat one or two more, but “the loss inside the embankment is made up outside the embankment”, eat more oranges and eat less other staple foods, and you must pay attention to cleaning your teeth!
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02
Eating too many oranges will turn them into “minions”?
That’s right!
Anyone who loves oranges should have this personal experience: if they eat too many oranges for a period of time, the skin of the hands, feet and even the whole body will turn yellow and become “minions”. Some people may even wonder if the oranges are dyed?
In fact, it has nothing to do with dyeing. If you eat a lot of oranges, your skin will turn yellow, because oranges are rich in carotene. If you eat a lot of oranges, your body will take in too much carotene, which will not be metabolized in time. Causes the skin to turn yellow. This condition is called “hypercaroteneemia”, also called “orange disease”. The typical manifestation of this symptom is obvious yellowing of the palms and soles of the feet, and even the skin of the whole body in severe cases. yellow.
However, it will only affect “appearance” for a short time, and will not affect health. As long as you stop eating oranges temporarily, your skin color will return to normal in a week or two, and no special treatment is generally required.
Moreover, in addition to citrus, carrots, pumpkins, papayas, mangoes and other fruits and vegetables are also rich in carotene. If you eat a lot, you will become “minions”. If you find that your complexion has turned yellow recently, you might as well review whether you have been consuming too much of these fruits and vegetables recently.
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03
If you eat too many oranges, will you get angry?
The saying that “oranges fall in love with fire” makes many citrus lovers have scruples and dare not eat good oranges.
First of all, “getting on fire” is a difficult concept to define. The so-called “getting on fire” is a generalization of a type of bodily feeling by the ancients. The concept is very vague, it is impossible to explain, and it is difficult to guide our life. But many people will say that after eating oranges, there will be red and swollen gums and mouth ulcers… What’s the matter?
In fact, for oranges, the main culprit for “getting hot” is the high sugar content in oranges. Eating too many oranges means eating a lot of sugar. High sugar content can make the throat dry and dry; some sensitive people may also experience gum and stomach discomfort because of the fruit acids in oranges. If the mouth is not cleaned in time after eating, these food residues and sugars will easily cause bacteria in the mouth to grow and cause inflammation. The initial stage may be inflammation of the gums, which are mainly characterized by red and swollen gums, easy bleeding, and pain.
Are these similar to the symptoms of feeling “hot” after eating fruit? The solution is very simple: don’t be greedy, just eat one or two a day, and after eating oranges, use dental floss to clean the pulp residue in the teeth in time, and rinse your mouth with water in time, so that there will be no “upper”. fire” situation.
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04
Is it beneficial to eat more white flesh in oranges?
Everything is optional, no need to force it
The white cotton wool and filaments wrapped on the inside of the orange peel and on the orange petals are called orange loaves, also known as orange silk and orange tendons. They are usually white, mostly yellowish white after drying, and will turn brown after being placed for a long time. yellow. Its essence is actually a kind of peel. The “orange peel” we often say is that there are two layers of peel, the outer layer, which is smooth, or orange-red or golden. The orange peel is actually the “mesocarp”. .
Some people say that Juluo has high nutritional value, and think that it should be eaten, not thrown away, and even used for medicinal purposes. This statement is somewhat exaggerated.
In fact, Juluo does have some nutrients. Its components are mainly water and dietary fiber, and there are also some plant polyphenols.
However, considering that the amount of white flesh is too small, and the taste is not very good, after all, most of it is dietary fiber. If you feel that it is a pity to throw it away, then eat it; but if you feel that the taste is not good, it doesn’t matter if you don’t eat it. It’s totally up to personal preference. Therefore, there is absolutely no need to exaggerate the nutritional value of orange pulp. I really want to supplement dietary fiber and eat more grains for better results.
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05
Oranges are divided into male and female, female oranges are sweeter?
Science says: no such thing
Oranges are delicious, and they are generally sweet and particularly sweet. Therefore, various “tricks” for choosing oranges came into being: those with small circles at the bottom of the oranges are female oranges, those with small dots are male oranges, and the female ones are more than the male ones. Sweet, try to pick the mother orange.
There is no scientific basis for this claim! The key to the so-called “male and female distinction” in this statement is the “umbilical cord” located at the bottom of the fruit (opposite the stalk), which is actually the scar left by the fallen flower organs on the fruit. The “navel” at the bottom of the orange is the trace of the style falling off, most of which are dotted. These scars are mainly remnants of the vascular bundles that transport water and nutrients, and because the underlying pericarp tissue usually develops more slowly (or even not) than the rest of the fruit, forming a slightly concave “umbilicus”.
Because the peel development speed of this part of different fruits is very different, the umbilicus of different sizes, ranging from punctate to ring-shaped, can be seen in the same variety of oranges. The size of the umbilicus was distributed continuously in different fruits, and there was no clear demarcation between male and female, and there was no evidence that the development of the umbilicus, a small piece of peel, was related to the taste of the fruit.
In fact, tangerines, tangerines, oranges and pomelo are all citrus fruits. The sourness and sweetness of their taste are directly related to soil quality, fertilizer, sunshine, tree age, etc.; different.
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06
Eating oranges is worse than drinking orange juice?
Nutrient loss is a small matter and a big impact on health!
After the orange is juiced, almost all dietary fiber is filtered out, and if you drink too much, it will cause excessive sugar intake, which is very bad for your health.
It’s not just oranges. For all fruits, there is a big difference between drinking juice and eating the fruit directly:
1. Nutrient loss from juice
During the production of fruit juice, some of the dietary fiber and nutrients are often filtered out, and the vitamin C and antioxidant substances in it are also lost.
2. Fruit juice is high in sugar and is also a free sugar
The sugar in fruit is no problem in fruit. But sugar in fruit juice is free sugar after juicing. The World Health Organization recommends limiting the intake of “free sugars” to less than 50 grams per day, preferably less than 25 grams. What’s more, juices tend to be very sweet, good juices are high in sugar, and no one likes to drink that sour juice. The sugar content of apple juice and orange juice is above 8%, and the sugar content of grape juice can even be as high as 15% to 20%, which is almost twice the sugar content of cola! Drinking a cup of pure fruit juice can drink 20-40 grams of sugar, 40 grams of sugar is equivalent to half a bowl of rice, drink it in addition to three meals a day, how can you not gain weight? Obesity also increases the risk of some chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood lipids.
3. Juice has poor satiety, fast digestion, and fast rise in blood sugar
Fruit is a solid state, which requires chewing, strong satiety, and slow gastric emptying; while fruit juice is a liquid state, no chewing, poor satiety, fast emptying in the stomach, and absorption in the intestines It’s also fast, and blood sugar rises much faster, which is very bad for blood sugar and weight control.
4. Juice is easy to drink a lot
People who often drink fruit juice must have such an experience. It is easy to drink a lot of fruit juice. Eating one apple is exhausting and filling your stomach; after eating two apples in a row, no one will ask for a third. However, drinking a glass of juice is very easy, and even drinking two or three glasses is not difficult. After all, the feeling of fullness is much worse. And fruit juice is high in sugar, it is easy to consume a lot of energy, and it is not good for health at all.
Numerous studies have shown that drinking fruit juice has a tendency to promote obesity and increase the risk of diabetes. For young children, it also increases the risk of dental caries, leading to cavities in children. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends not to give fruit juice to infants under 1 year old. Babies after 6 months can eat puree directly, and children after 1 year old should also limit fruit juice . According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there are no health benefits to fruit juice for infants under the age of 1, and infants under the age of 1 should never drink fruit juice (pure juice or not). Juice has no nutritional advantage over whole fruit pulp; it is not important for a healthy, balanced diet for infants and children of any age.
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Winter is here, and it’s time to eat oranges. I hope that after deepening your understanding of oranges, you can enjoy its deliciousness more healthily and reasonably!
Author | Ruan Guangfeng, Director of Science and Technology Department of Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center
Review | Gao Chao Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
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