Health Benefits Of Tangerine: The 6 Best Benefits Of Tangerine For Health
Health Benefits Of Tangerine: Tangerines are a type of mandarin, the second-largest cultivated citrus fruit after oranges.
Like oranges, tangerines are orange in color — although some varieties may have shades of green or red. However, they’re a bit smaller and less round and are easier to peel by hand. They also have a sweeter taste.
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, Both the flesh and peel are highly nutritious. You can enjoy tangerines as a snack on the go, blend them into a refreshing juice or smoothie, or use them to make a sweet jam or salad dressing.
Here are 8 surprising health benefits of tangerines.
1. Packed with nutrients
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, Despite their small size compared with other citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruits, tangerines are nutrient- and water-rich — in fact, they’re about 85% water.
Here’s the nutrient profile of 1 medium (88-gram) tangerine:
Calories: 47
Carbs: 12 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Protein: 0.7 grams
Fat: 0 grams
Vitamin C: 26% of the Daily Value (DV)
Vitamin A: 3% of the DV
Potassium: 3% of the DV
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, As you can see, tangerines are a great source of vitamin C — the nutrient that’s arguably behind most of tangerines’ health benefits.
Tangerines are also one of the most concentrated sources of beta-cryptoxanthin, an antioxidant that is converted to vitamin A in the body and is behind tangerines’ and other fruits’ orange color.
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, Additionally, tangerines provide potassium and B complex vitamins, namely B1, B6, and B9, or thiamine, pyridoxine, and folate, respectively.
2. High in antioxidants
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, Health Benefits Of Intriguing, Antioxidants protect your body by neutralizing the damaging effects of oxidative stress, which is caused by the accumulation of free radicals. These harmful molecules are involved in the development of chronic conditions such as heart disease, arthritis, and cancer.
Tangerines — including their peels — are rich sources of antioxidants such as vitamin C and beta-cryptoxanthin and flavonoids such as naringin, hesperidin, tangeretin, and nobiletin.
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, Vitamin C’s antioxidant capacity is known for its beneficial effects on skin and heart health, as well as for its cancer-fighting properties.
Research has linked flavonoids with numerous health benefits, including brain-protective effects and reduced risk of chronic conditions.
3. Immunity boosters
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, Vitamin C in tangerines may help protect your immune system from viruses and bacteria by acting upon T cells, a type of white blood cells that protect your body.
Research shows that the vitamin influences T cells’ development and function and blocks pathways that lead to their death. Therefore, it helps you maintain a healthy level of these cells to fight off infections.
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, In addition, vitamin C enhances phagocytes — immune cells that ingest bacteria and other harmful compounds — and microbial killing, which also strengthens your immune response.
For example, studies have linked the intake of 1–2 grams of vitamin C per day with reduced severity and duration of the common cold.
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, It may also help reduce the severity of allergic reactions — a quality that has also been attributed to hesperidin and naringenin, two of the antioxidants present in tangerine peel.
4. May support brain health
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, Antioxidants in tangerines, such as vitamin C and nobiletin, may protect against chronic brain disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
For instance, research has linked an increased free radical count with the development of schizophrenia. Vitamin C’s antioxidant capacity may protect against free radical-induced damage in the brain.
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, Additionally, animal studies suggest that nobiletin from tangerine peel may help reduce negative effects on the brain in Alzheimer’s disease, such as memory loss.
Nobiletin it may protect brain cells from beta-amyloid accumulation and toxicity, which is associated with the onset of the disease.
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, As for tangerines’ effects on Parkinson’s disease, their nobiletin content seems to improve motor impairments in mice by protecting dopamine-producing cells in the brain. Damage to those cells leads to the progression of the disease.
However, while the research seems promising, human studies are lacking.
5. Could help improve skin appearance
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, Adding tangerines to your diet may promote healthy skin due to vitamin C’s effect on collagen production.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body. It gives structure, strength, and stability to connective tissues, including your skin.
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, As you age, the amount of collagen in your body decreases. However, vitamin C promotes collagen synthesis, which improves wound healing and reduces signs of aging, such as wrinkling.
What’s more, vitamin C’s antioxidant properties may reduce signs of aging by slowing free radical-induced damage to the skin.
6. Weight-loss-friendly
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, Tangerines may aid weight loss by increasing your daily fiber intake.
Citrus fruits, including tangerines, provide insoluble fiber — the kind that doesn’t ferment in the intestine — such as cellulose and lignin.
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, This type of fiber enhances feelings of fullness by slowing down the transit of food through your digestive tract. This in turn helps regulate your appetite, which may promote weight loss.
What’s more, research shows that people with higher fiber intakes are better able to maintain their body weight or prevent weight regain compared with those who consume less fiber.
Health Benefits Of Tangerine, In addition, one test-tube study found that nobiletin prevented fat accumulation in fat cells and significantly increased activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity. AMPK is a protein that regulates cellular energy balance, which may counteract the formation of new fat cells.
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