Bloody Brilliant: The Top Benefits of Blood Oranges

Blood oranges are extremely good for your health. How so? Read on to learn about the incredible unique benefits that blood oranges provide for your health!

Would you eat fruit with blood in the name? If not, you will miss out.

Though blood oranges have a mildly gruesome name, the fruit is anything but. If you've never tried one, try imagining what an orange crossed with a raspberry would taste like. 

Does that pique your interest?

It should...because this is a bloody brilliant fruit. Let's take a look at the health benefits of eating blood oranges.

Vitamin C

As a citrus fruit, you can expect that blood oranges have a healthy dose of vitamin C. Just 100 grams of the fruit (less than a typical sized blood orange) provides nearly 90% of the recommended daily intake.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that is crucial for good health. The body can't manufacture it on its own, therefore you must get it from the food you eat. It's important for maintaining good gums, teeth, cartilage, and skin.

Vitamin C helps clear free radical damage from the body and reduces inflammation. The antioxidant is linked to a lower risk of several types of cancer. Additionally, it helps facilitate wound healing and much more. 

Anthocyanins

It's not likely that you woke up this morning and thought "I'd better start getting some more anthocyanins in my diet!" Regardless, this antioxidant that you probably know nothing about can do a lot for you.

Anthocyanins show up in various foods and are responsible for their color. They are what make blueberries that dark, luscious purple and give black plums their hue. They also give blood oranges that rich red color that makes them so bloody brilliant.

As an antioxidant, it packs a lot of health benefits for you. Anthocyanins have been linked to reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. They also lower cholesterol and help reduce oxidative damage in the blood vessels.

Folic Acid

Here's some more cancer-fighting power for you. Folic acid can help reduce the risk of some types of cancer as well as heart disease.

The body uses this vitamin to build new blood cells (that's apt!). Therefore many doctors recommend a higher dose for pregnant women as this can help prevent birth defects.

Calcium 

Calcium is extremely important for strong bones and teeth. If you think you may be at risk for osteoporosis as you age, start looking for more calcium as soon as possible. This will help prevent your bones from becoming brittle.

Blood oranges have far less calcium per fruit than they do Vitamin C. So don't count on them as your primary source of calcium. You'd have to eat quite a few per day to reach the recommended daily intake.

Benefits of Blood Oranges

In this article, we've outlined the basic health benefits of eating blood oranges. If you've never tried one, now is the time!

If you want to have delicious, seasonal citrus fruit right away, join the Craft Citrus Club!

Try our seasonal citrus box while its available...the Craft Citrus Club!

Our Rio box is a 15-lb curated box of our fresh-harvested citrus from South Texas. The fruit is NOT gassed, rather it is tree-ripened. Our season runs from Nov-May for  oranges, grapefruit and mandarins.

Our Grande box is a 30-lb box of either fresh-harvested Rio Red Grapefruit or Sweet Oranges from South Texas.