How many calories in an orange fruit

Oranges are round, orange-colored citrus fruits that grow on trees. They originally came from China, but today these nutritious powerhouses are grown in warm climates around the world.

There are many different varieties of oranges. Some are sweet, and some are sour. Common types include:

  • Navel
  • Mandarin
  • Cara Cara
  • Blood oranges
  • Valencia
  • Seville
  • Jaffa

Every type of orange has more than 100% of your recommended daily amount of vitamin C. That's more than any other citrus fruit. All you have to do to get this key vitamin is peel and eat.

One medium-sized orange has:

  • 60 calories
  • No fat or sodium
  • 3 grams of fiber
  • 12 grams of sugar
  • 1 gram of protein
  • 14 micrograms of vitamin A
  • 70 milligrams of vitamin C
  • 6% of your daily recommended amount of calcium
  • 237 milligrams of potassium
  • 15.4 grams of carbohydrates

The vitamin C in oranges helps your body in lots of ways:

  • Protects your cells from damage
  • Helps your body make collagen, a protein that heals wounds and gives you smoother skin
  • Makes it easier to absorb iron to fight anemia
  • Boosts your immune system, your body's defense against germs
  • Slows the advance of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss
  • Helps fight cancer-causing free radicals

When you're feeling anxious, vitamin C can also lower your levels of the stress hormone cortisol and your blood pressure.

Some other benefits:

Anti-inflammatory. Some foods tell your immune system it's under attack. This causes inflammation. When inflammation turns into a long-term problem, it can trigger diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. Oranges have the opposite effect.

Fiber. The 3 grams of fiber in a medium orange help keep your bowels healthy, your cholesterol and risk of heart disease low, and ulcers at bay. Fiber also slows the way your body absorbs sugar -- a big bonus if you have diabetes.

Calcium. Oranges are high in this important nutrient, which keeps your bones, organs, and muscles strong.

Folate for moms and babies. Oranges are a great way to get a big dose of folate naturally. Your body uses it to divide cells and make DNA. Because it helps prevent birth defects, it's an especially important B vitamin for pregnant women.

Good sugar. The 12 grams of sugar in an orange are all natural. That's different from the kind of sugar you'd get in a candy bar. Plus, all the fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants that come with an orange make it a much better choice for your body. Choose raw oranges, which have less sugar than the dried kind.

Potassium. This nutrient lowers your blood pressure, and oranges have a bunch of it.

Citric acid and citrates. These compounds help prevent kidney stones from forming.

Sometimes you can get too much of a good thing. Though this mainly applies to the supplement form, too much vitamin C at one time could give your body more fiber and sugar than it needs.

Watch out for nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, headache, and insomnia.

Oranges are high in acid, and that can make symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) worse.

If you’re taking beta-blockers, too many oranges could increase your potassium intake and lead to kidney damage.

If your body stores more iron than it needs, a condition called hemochromatosis, high doses of vitamin C can add more iron and damage your tissues.

Vitamin C may also increase absorption from medicines that contain aluminum, like phosphate binders, and increase your estrogen levels if you're on hormone replacement therapy.

As for orange juice, you might get some extra sugar and lose some fiber in the trade-off. Too much fruit juice can also lead to weight gain, which can raise your risk of heart disease, especially in middle age. But both whole oranges and their juice are good for you.

You can store your oranges at room temperature out of direct sunlight. But if you know you won’t eat them for a few days, put them in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer.

For ways to prepare oranges, check out:

  • Carrot-Orange Juice
  • Orange-Earl Grey Iced Tea
  • Orange Cranberry Chicken

SOURCES:

University of Rhode Island: "Citrus Fruits."

Colorado Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence: "Oranges."

National Institutes of Health: "Vitamin C: fact sheet for consumers," "Vitamin C, fact sheet for health professionals."

Biological Forum: "Determination of Vitamin C content in Citrus Fruits and in Non-Citrus Fruits by Titrimetric method, with special reference to their nutritional importance in Human diet."

Mayo Clinic: "Is it possible to take too much vitamin C?" “Iron Deficiency Anemia.”

UCLA Center for East-West Medicine: "Eat Right, Drink Well, Stress Less: Stress-Reducing Foods, Herbal Supplements, and Teas."

Harvard Health Publishing: "Foods that fight inflammation," "How much calcium do you really need?" “Understanding antioxidants.”

Arthritis Foundation: "12 Best Foods for Arthritis."

Mayo Clinic: "Chart of high-fiber foods."

Canadian Society of Intestinal Research: "Diet for ulcer disease."

Blank Children's Hospital: "18 Foods Filled With Folate Every Woman Should Know."

United States Department of Agriculture: "Oranges, raw, all,” “Certifying Various Varieties of Citrus.”

University Health News: "Sugar Content in Fruit: Is It Damaging to Your Health and Waistline?"

Blood Pressure UK: "Potassium rich fruits help to lower blood pressure."

UC Riverside College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences: “Citrus Variety Collection.”

Nutrients: “A Collagen Supplement Improves Skin Hydration, Elasticity, Roughness, and Density: Results of a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Blind Study.”

UW Health: “Fight Heart Disease with Fiber,” “Citric Acid and Kidney Stones.”

University Hospitals: “The Best and Worst Foods for Acid Reflux.”

American Heart Association: “Hyperkalemia (High Potassium).”

American Journal of Public Health: “Reducing Childhood Obesity by Eliminating 100% Fruit Juice.”

CardioSmart, American College of Cardiology: “Weight Gain in Middle Age Contributes to Increased Risk for Heart Failure.”

University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources: “Oranges: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve and Enjoy.”

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How many calories in an orange fruit

An orange will usually have between 45 and 85 calories.

Image Credit: Thu Thai Thanh / EyeEm/EyeEm/GettyImages

Popular oranges are among the healthiest fruits you can consume. They can be eaten alone, juiced or even incorporated into savory dishes like salads. An orange's calories can range substantially, depending on the size of the fruit.

An orange usually has between 45 and 85 calories. The exact number depends on its size.

Orange Calories and Nutrition Facts

According to the Mayo Clinic, most people should consume around six servings of fruits and vegetables each day. The USDA states that 1 cup of orange sections equals 180 grams. This is also the approximate size of one large orange.

A cup of orange sections has 85 calories. One large orange's calories are just a bit more, at 86 calories. Your average small (96 gram) orange's calories has 45 calories.

Every cup of orange sections has 0.2 grams of fat and 1.7 grams of protein. A cup of oranges also has 21.2 grams of carbohydrates. Out of these carbohydrates, 4.3 grams come from dietary fiber, while 16.8 grams come from sugar. A cup of orange sections also has a variety of essential nutrients, including:

  • 6 percent of the daily value (DV) for calcium
  • 7 percent of the DV for potassium
  • 9 percent of the DV for copper
  • 13 percent of the DV for vitamin B1 (thiamin)
  • 6 percent of the DV for vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
  • 9 percent of the DV for vitamin B5
  • 6 percent of the DV for vitamin B6
  • 14 percent of the DV for vitamin B9 (folic acid)
  • 106 percent of the DV for vitamin C

Oranges also contain small amounts (between 1 and 4 percent of the DV) for a variety of other essential vitamins and minerals, including iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin B3 (niacin) and vitamin E.

According to a December 2015 study in the journal BMC Chemistry, citrus fruits like oranges also have many different beneficial bioactive compounds. These include various types of antioxidants.

Oranges vs. Other Fruits

In comparison to other commonly consumed fruits, oranges are fairly high in calories. The USDA states that:

  • A cup of grapefruit: 74 calories per 230 grams
  • A cup of strawberries: 53 calories per 166 grams
  • A cup of apple slices: 65 calories per 125 grams
  • A cup of banana slices: 134 calories per 150 grams

But as you see, a cup is a measurement that can differ somewhat among these fruits. Gram for gram, oranges are calorically in the middle of these fruits. If you compare 100-gram-sized servings, you'll find that there are:

  • 52 calories in an apple
  • 89 calories in a banana
  • 32 calories in a grapefruit
  • 47 calories in an orange
  • 32 calories in strawberries

Overall, all of these fruits are rich in different nutrients and fairly low in calories. Consuming a wide variety of fruits is recommended by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. A variation of plant-based foods in your diet helps you stay healthy.

If you're concerned about your intake of carbohydrates — specifically the amount of sugar versus dietary fiber you're consuming — you may want to mainly consume fruits like strawberries. These have the lowest amount of net carbs.

In contrast, bananas have the most total dietary fiber. However, they also have the most sugar and overall carbohydrate content.