Oranges have a glycemic index of only 40 so you can eat them in moderation and not raise your blood glucose levels and not be a concern with gaining weight or having issues with insulin. Oranges also have a glycemic load number of only 5! So, Are Oranges Good For Diabetics? The answer to the question is an affirmative. You can eat them, but in moderation.
Why is this Fruit Beneficial if You Have Diabetes?
Fiber is very effective at fighting diabetes. You need to have your blood sugars controlled and oranges can help. While they are not the best fruit for the job, they are beneficial as long as you don’t overdo it.
And as a diabetic, I would recommend NOT drinking orange juice. Our goal is to avoid sugar and that’s what’s in orange juice.
There are other oranges that you can have as a diabetic. These smaller oranges are mandarins or clementines. These contain less sugar and less calories. But it doesn’t mean you can eat twice as many as regular size oranges. Remember, moderation is the key here.
We are looking at carbohydrates here. I happen to love clementines the best. And they are better than oranges because they contain half of the carbs that regular oranges contain. The bottom line here is that you can have any kind of orange. Just be careful. They are not as low in sugar as the fruits in the berry family. Fruits that are berries are the best fruits for diabetics, but oranges are still good too.
What Benefits do Oranges Provide?
1) Your Vision
You want your eyes to be as perfect as possible. Oranges do provide vitamin A which is beneficial for protecting your eyes against cataracts, macular degeneration, and even possibly blindness from your eyes worsening with age.
Oranges due offer a decent amount of protection for maintaining and promoting better vision and an overall good health for your eyes. I take my eyesight seriously as you should to. Don’t ever not be grateful for the ability to see each and every day!
2) Skin Protection
Your skin is important and you want it looking the best that it can especially as you age. One of the best things for your skin and protecting your cells from damage is beta-carotene. This antioxidant is very powerful and helps in protecting against those nasty free radicals that can harm your cells and your body.
Oranges contain beta-carotene so eating oranges should always be a part of your healthy diet. Peel off the skin to eat for it to protect your skin! This will aid in slowing down the aging process.
3) Mood Enhancing
It’s the aroma of the citrus oranges that affects your mood. The scent can will calm you and help to alleviate anxiety and stress. Oranges help to enhance serotonin because of the distinct flavonoids they consist of.
Studies revealed that can improve your sex life and at the same time decrease cortisol levels in your body.
You should give it a try. Oranges can be beneficial for you emotionally as well as physically so why not take advantage of a fruit to relax you and put you in a better mood? 🙂 Try it through aromatherapy. Get yourself a diffuser and let me know how it works out for you!
4) Constipation
Nobody likes being constipated. It’s very uncomfortable for sure. Not to get too graphic but trying to pass your stool when it feels like rocks is very frustrating and annoying. But fiber can always help this matter. Fiber makes passing your stool so much easier. Water is obviously the biggest help so the high content of water in oranges combined with the fiber makes going to the bathroom much easier!
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5) Hypertension
High blood pressure is a killer as I’m sure you know. You can take medications but my website is all about the natural ways to lower blood sugar and other health problems as well. Why are oranges good for hypertension? It’s because of their content of potassium. This is a great help in the dilating of your blood vessels. This accompanied by its flavonoids enhance the pliability of your vessels.
6) Your Heart
What’s more important than your heart? It needs to run in optimum form because your health depends on your heart. You have major problems when the flow of blood is interrupted to and from your heart. All of your tissues and organs require blood rich in nutrients and oxygen that your heart provides.
Cholesterol is the heart’s enemy here and oranges can come to the rescue here by helping to lower your cholesterol. Because oranges consist of a lot of soluble fiber, that aids with ridding your blood of fat. So do yourself a huge favor and make sure you have oranges because your heart will thank you for it!
7) Folate
All citrus fruits have the largest content of folate (or folic acid) than most other fruits. A glass of orange juice contains even more folate, but I’d rather see you get folate from the oranges because the juice contains too much sugar and with diabetes, that’s a no-no!
If you wind up being deficient in folate, you may wind up with liver issues, anemia, and ulcerative colitis. It’s just a smart idea to have oranges with folate in your diet rather than take a chance on getting any of those health problems. One other vital benefit that folate provides is the production of your DNA. Of course that’s critically important too.
8) Immune System
I always like to mention your immune system because I just feel that it is that important. Your immune system must be running at its peak performance because those damn free radicals can cause a slew of health issues if they’re not kept in check. You want and need foods such as oranges that are going to boost your immune system.
It’s the antioxidants that are responsible for fighting off and keeping out the free radicals and pathogens that want to get into your body. If you don’t protect your system, it won’t protect you and then you will have major issues my friend! Let oranges help by providing the balance you need that will guarantee that your immune system will work like a well-oiled machine to protect you!
9) Oral Health
Your teeth and gums are vital to your health too. Just how important is it for you to eat? I would say a little 🙂 You want your gums to be healthy because it can affect your whole body if you don’t make sure you’re doing everything that you’re supposed to in protecting and keep those gums healthy. Bacteria gets in between your teeth and affects your gums and makes them unhealthy.
It’s been studied that cardiovascular issues can derive from gums that are unhealthy. When bacteria in your mouth binds with plaque and you can wind up with a respiratory infection from blood flow that becomes blocked. You can help to avoid all of this by consuming oranges with their antioxidants because they are experts at protecting your gums from harmful bacteria and keeping them as healthy as can be.
10) Kidney Stones
I am so thankful to have never had these. You don’t want kidney stones. These little deposits of minerals in your kidneys can cause pain that is beyond describing. The best way to avoid kidney stones is to consume foods such as oranges which consist of high amounts of citrates and citric acid that can prevent the possible formation of kidney stones in the first place.
11) Losing Weight
This is without a doubt one of the biggest health issues on the planet. It seems that so many people are wanting and trying to lose weight. One of the best ways with losing weight is with fiber. The fiber always gives you that full feeling and that leads to eating less and losing weight. That’s why oranges are helpful with weight loss.
12) Gout
Like kidney stones, gout is not something you ever want to experience. With most issues like this where pain is involved, if you were eating right in the first place, this might not have occurred. So avoid the pain and swelling in your joints, knees, ankles, foot, toes, hands, fingers, and elbows. Oranges with vitamin C were shown to have a much lower risk of developing gout.
13) Vitamin C
This is a vitamin that your body is not able to make on its own. There are many foods that can provide you with vitamin C such as broccoli, kale, berries, and citrus fruits. But oranges have always been associated with vitamin C because they are the best source for it! Make oranges part of your diet for sure!
14) Bones
Strong and healthy bones are important. This is especially true when you get older. (like me) Issues with your bones can lead to other problems such as a compromised immune system, becoming fatigued and more. You don’t want to experience any breaks or fractures. Vitamin D has always been know for good bone health. But the vitamin C in oranges is also beneficial for your bone health.
Side Effects (Usually from too many oranges)
- Too many oranges can produce heartburn, weight gain, or irregularity.
- Acid reflux pain
- Problems moving your bowels.
- Possible abdominal cramps and diarrhea
In Conclusion
Are Oranges Good For Diabetics? Of course they are! As I said, they may not be the best fruit for diabetics, but in moderate amounts they are beneficial. So you can still eat oranges just don’t eat a whole bushel full! Too much of anything is not good.
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Very interesting article on oranges. I didn’t realize oranges had a low glycemic index. I always thought they had a lot of sugar in them and therefore could lead to insulin resistance. You make some very good claims for the benefits of oranges, but always only in moderation.
Hi Bob, Oranges have a glycemic index that isn’t really too low, but low enough that diabetics can eat them. It’s a fine line between the blood sugar levels. Moderation is great and anything more is not. So let’s take it easy and also stay away from orange juice! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Hi Rob, another really informative post! This is great! I think a lot of people who struggle with blood sugar put fruit in the no-no category because they think it will spike their blood sugar terribly. However, you’ve got some great points about the other nutrients they are getting (as long as they avoid the juice!). Keep the great advice coming!
Hey Christina! 🙂 Thank you! I love oranges but don’t eat them a lot because they could spike your blood sugar. Clementines are actually better because they are smaller and contain less sugar. But oranges still provide great benefits! Thanks for sharing! 😉
Hi Rob, thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. Interestingly enough my dad has high blood sugar and he loves oranges he can go through 8 a day. I guess moderation is key even with the good stuff.
Hi Evelynn! Wow that’s a lot of oranges in one day! That could be leading to the high blood sugars. I love oranges too but I limit to 1 medium orange because it’s enough to keep my blood sugars stable. I hope your dad cuts back a bit. ? Thanks for your comments!
It’s a good thing I absolutely love oranges then! And mandarines. I had to google clementines. I don’t think we have those in Australia?
I’m not diabetic but do lots of food research as we have to limit our fructose intake, so fruit juice is out for us as well. Thanks for the info. Cheers
Hey Melissa ? Oranges are so good! I’ll eat mandarins too but clementines are my favorite becaus they are smaller and less sugar which is what you want when you’re a diabetic.And let’s stay away from the juice! Thank you for stopping by! ?
So much of usefull information in this article! Thank you so much! I never knew that oranges prevents from cataracts.
Hey Alyona ? Thank you so much yes I tried to provide as much information as possible about oranges. Vitamin C always works wonders for so many things. And anything that prevents Cataracs is good in my book. Oranges are good for you just in moderation. Thank you for your comments!
Thank you for all this information about oranges! I think a common misconception is that fruit has too much sugar for diabetics or people who are trying to lose weight. But fruit is actually very healthy for anyone due to all the fiber, vitamins and minerals in it. I have always like the smell of citrus, but I didn’t know it had calming effects. That’s good to know!
Hi Bailey, Well fruit does have sugar but it’s how much sugar that’s important. While berries what the best fruit as far as the glycemic index, oranges are still good as long as you don’t have too many of them. I love citrus fruits too. Oranges provide lots of fiber vitamins and minerals. Thank you for sharing!