Are Tangerines Good For You? Nutrition, Health Benefits & How To Eat In 2024

Are you looking to add more superfoods to your diet? Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need expensive supplements to achieve this. 

Common foods like tangerines are packed with nutrients that are incredibly good for your health. 

If you’ve overlooked this sweet and tangy fruit or are simply confused about the difference between tangerines and oranges, you’ll want to keep reading. 

Once you learn about their many benefits, you’ll be eager to add tangerines to your next grocery list. 

Tangerine Nutrition Facts

Most tangerine health benefits are due to its high vitamin C content. A single fruit provides^[1] more than 25 percent of your daily needs.

Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron and fight off infections. Plus, vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that protects your cells from stress-related damage and aging. 

Tangerines, and other citrus fruits, are also good sources of flavonoids.^[2] Flavonoids are compounds in plant foods that fight inflammation and reduce your risk for chronic diseases. 

Finally, the tangerine peel and fruit contain plenty of dietary fiber, water, vitamins, and minerals that support heart and digestive health. 

Below is the nutritional breakdown of a typical serving of tangerine, which is about one medium-sized fruit: 

• Calories: 46 kilocalories.
• Fat: 0 grams.
• Carbohydrate: 12 grams.
• Fiber: 2 grams. 
• Total Sugars: 9 grams.
• Calcium: 32 milligrams.
• Magnesium: 11 milligrams.
• Potassium: 146 milligrams.
• Vitamin C: 24 milligrams. 

Tangerine Benefits

So what are tangerines good for and how exactly are tangerines good for you? Including them in your diet can:

Boost Immunity

Consuming tangerines provides a healthy dose of vitamin C to support your immune system. 

Vitamin C orchestrates many complex processes^[3] that are part of your body’s immune response to disease or injury. 

These processes include mobilizing and protecting phagocytes, the white blood cells that act as your body’s first line of defense against infection.

Vitamin C also assists with the development and function of special immune cells, called T cells, that create antibodies to protect your body from specific invaders.  

While it’s unclear^[4] whether high doses of vitamin C can keep you from catching a cold or ease cold symptoms, research has shown that not getting enough vitamin C makes you more susceptible to infections.^[5]

Furthermore, people who eat a lot of fruits and vegetables that contain nutrients like vitamin C are less likely^[6] to suffer from many chronic diseases and cancers.  

Help Fight Wrinkles

Tangerines have the potential to support skin health and fight signs of aging due to their high antioxidant content. Antioxidants^[7] neutralize free radicals, which are unstable molecules made during normal metabolism. In doing so, they protect tissues and cells from damage caused by internal or external stressors.

As a potent antioxidant, vitamin C protects^[8] your skin cells from damaging UV rays.

Vitamin C also stimulates the production of collagen, a protein that strengthens connective tissues throughout your body. 

Together, these efforts help you maintain healthy skin by combating premature aging and wrinkling in the skin’s support structure. 

Protect Brain Health

Brain function tends to decline as we age. Finding ways to improve brain health can dramatically impact your quality of life in your later years. 

Tangerines provide antioxidants and flavonoids that may help achieve this. 

Vitamin C has been shown^[9] to reduce inflammation and protect brain cells from damage through its antioxidant properties. Both are risk factors for age-related brain diseases like Alzheimer’s.  

In addition, laboratory studies^[10] have found that the flavonoids^[11] in citrus fruits improved memory, motor function, and depressive symptoms in test animals. 

There are still not enough human studies to corroborate the animal studies’ results; however, one small 2015 study^[12] found that drinking a flavanol-rich juice daily for eight weeks improved memory in older adults.

Also, observational studies have linked a higher intake of citrus fruits in adults with a reduced risk of dementia,^[13] stroke,^[14] and depression.^[15]

Promote Heart Health

As a good source of fiber, tangerines support your heart in a few ways. 

Eating plenty of fiber is well known^[16] to help lower cholesterol levels, a risk factor for heart disease. However, fiber also interacts with the healthy bacteria in your gut to promote cardiovascular health. 

These friendly bacteria break down the fiber in your digestive tract to form short-chain fatty acids. Short-chain fatty acids interact with your body’s cells to regulate^[17] blood pressure and inflammation —  actions that protect against cardiovascular disease. 

Fiber also helps control blood sugar levels which is good for your heart. Over time, high blood sugar can damage blood vessels and is a major cause of heart disease. 

Aid Weight Loss Efforts

Are tangerines good for weight loss? Tangerines are excellent foods to include in your diet to achieve a healthy body weight. 

Due to their fiber^[18] and water content, tangerines are naturally low in calories, with only about 0.5 calories per gram weight. 

Compare this to a standard potato chip with about 5.3 calories per gram weight, and it’s easy to see how choosing tangerines at snack time can help you stay within your calorie goals. 

Additionally, the fiber in tangerines may help reduce food cravings. Fiber helps keep your blood sugar levels steady and slowly travels through your digestive system. Both of these can keep you feeling fuller, and longer.

Help Prevent Anemia

Anemia^[19] occurs when you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells to transport oxygen to your body’s organs. As a result, you can feel weak, light-headed, and tired.  

There are a few different types of anemia, one of which is iron-deficiency anemia. This type develops when you don’t have enough iron in your system. Iron helps make hemoglobin, the part of your red blood cell that carries oxygen throughout your body. 

You may experience iron-deficiency anemia if you have a diet low in iron, have certain digestive conditions that affect how well you absorb iron, or as a result of a recent menstrual cycle. 

Foods high in vitamin C, like tangerines, improve your body’s ability to absorb iron from the foods you eat. Combining citrus fruit like tangerines with iron-rich food, including meat, fish, and leafy greens can help prevent and improve symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia.^[20] 

Potential Side Effects Of Tangerines

Unless you have a citrus allergy, there are few side effects caused by regular tangerine fruit consumption. 

However, any increase in fiber can cause digestive upset or diarrhea in certain people. You can avoid this by increasing your fiber intake gradually and drinking plenty of water. 

Because citrus foods are acidic, there is a small risk of eroding tooth enamel if you consume tangerines too frequently. Further, the acidic nature of tangerines can cause heartburn in sensitive individuals. 

Regarding how many tangerines you should eat daily, a moderate intake of one to two citrus fruits daily is fine for most people. 

How To Eat Tangerines

The best part about tangerines is that they are delicious and convenient to eat. You can enjoy many health benefits of tangerines simply by peeling them and eating them raw.

If you’re feeling more adventurous, however, consider these ideas for including more tangerines in your diet: 

• Blend in smoothies.
• Zest the rinds to flavor yogurt or oatmeal.
• Top salads with tangerine segments for a bright burst of flavor.
• Combine with asparagus, toss in oil, and roast in the oven.
• Make tangerine marmalade to spread on toast. 
• Use tangerine juice to flavor homemade salad dressing.

Since tangerines in their peel do not require refrigeration, they also make an ideal on-the-go snack.  

The Takeaway

Tangerines are a great source of many vital nutrients that can improve your health. 

Incorporating citrus fruits like tangerines regularly into your diet should be used as your first line of defense to protect your body from disease, illness, or infection. 

Convenient and delicious, tangerines and their rinds can be enjoyed on their own or combined with smoothies, salads, or side dishes. 

However, if you decide to eat them, adding tangerines to your meals and snacks is an excellent way to reap the many benefits this fruit offers.

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