Tell us about your symptoms and treatment experience. Take our survey here.

Blood Oranges - Delicious & Healthy

I don't know about you, but sometimes I need to "shake things up," food-wise. My latest favorite food shakeup is citrus in nature and fabulous in color, taste, and nutrition. YES, I’m talking about blood oranges!

Blood oranges are pretty and tasty

Not only are these oranges an awesome color - a rich Sienna orange skin and crimson red flesh - they also make for excellent additions to salads, drinks, and make a tasty fruity snack/dessert that’s also loaded with all sorts of healthy good stuff!

Taste-wise they are a delicious mixture of flavors including orange, red grapefruit, and hints of raspberry goodness.

The health benefits of blood oranges

Nutritionally speaking, blood oranges have a heck of a lot going for them! 1 medium blood orange has roughly 70 calories, 0 grams of fat, somewhere between 13 and 16 grams of carbs, and 3 grams of fiber - which by the way, is 12 percent of our suggested daily fiber requirement.1

Blood oranges are rich in vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium, iron, and loaded with anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are a flavonoid that not only provides blood oranges with their vibrant and intense color, but are chock full of antioxidant magic and thought by many in-the-know to be weapons against inflammation, helping to prevent our blood vessels from oxidative damage, and have also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol.1

Also, because these oranges are becoming more popular and are now being grown commercially in the US and imported from Italy and the Mediterranean, their price has dropped considerably over the years.

Looking for a new healthy and tasty snack to shake up your tastebuds? I highly suggest giving blood oranges a try!

Are blood oranges okay for those on medications?

While some citrus fruits, including grapefruit, have been known to negatively impact certain meds, including; lovastatin, atorvastatin, and simvastatin. Those problems have not been reported with tangerines, clementines, mandarins, lemons, navel, and blood oranges.2 As always, when in doubt, check with your health care professionals.

By providing your email address, you are agreeing to our privacy policy.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Type2Diabetes.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.

Community Poll

Have you taken our In America Survey yet?