Clementines, also known as Cuties or Halos, are a combination of mandarin and sweet oranges.
These little fruits are bright orange, easy to peel, sweeter than most other citrus fruits, and often seedless.
Given these traits, they are frequently advertised to children and their parents as a simple method to incorporate fruit into a child’s diet. They have significant quantities of vitamin C and antioxidants.
However, they, like grapefruit, contain chemicals that may interfere with some drugs. This page explains the nutritional worth, benefits, and drawbacks of clementines, as well as how to prepare them.
What are Clementines Fruit?
Clementines are the result of a hybridization between a mandarin and a sweet orange. Their skin is easy to peel, and the segments don’t have any seeds inside.
They are in the Rutaceae family and are loved for their bright color and sweet taste. Father Clément Rodier, a French priest, is believed to have brought clementines from Algeria in the early 1900s, hence the name.
Because of these things, they’re often sold to kids and their parents as an easy way to get more food into their diet.
They provide you with a lot of vitamin C and healthy cells. However, like grapefruit, they contain chemicals that may not work well with some medicines.
Nutrition
Clementines are little citrus fruits that are around the size of a golf ball and contain a lot of water. They have a range of vitamins and minerals.
According to the USDA, One clementine (74 g) packed
- Calories: 35
- Protein: 1 gram
- Fat: 0 grams
- Carbs: 9 grams
- Fiber: 1 gram
- Vitamin C: 40% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Folate: 5% of the DV
- Thiamine: 5% of the DV
The majority of the calories in clementines come from natural sugars, with a little amount of protein.
Clementines are also a vitamin C powerhouse, with one little fruit delivering 40% of your daily requirement. Vitamin C, a strong antioxidant and immune enhancer, can prevent cellular damage from dangerous and unstable molecules known as free radicals.
Additionally, one clementine contains some folate and thiamine. These vitamins help prevent anemia and promote a healthy metabolism, among other tasks.
Benefits of Clementines
Clementines have high levels of antioxidants, such as vitamin C, which can help enhance the health and appearance of your skin. They can also assist in boosting your fiber consumption.
Furthermore, because they appeal to youngsters, they encourage fruit eating in this age range.
Dietary Fiber Source
Although one clementine has only 1 gram of fiber, eating a couple throughout the day is a simple and pleasant method to increase your fiber consumption.
Fruit fiber provides nourishment for the healthy bacteria in your intestines. It also bulks out and softens your stool to reduce constipation, potentially preventing illnesses like diverticular disease, which can arise when digested food gets trapped in polyps in the digestive tract.
Fruit fiber may potentially lower your cholesterol levels by attaching to dietary cholesterol and inhibiting its absorption into your system.
Furthermore, fiber from fruits has been linked to a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes, whereas increased fiber intake is connected with a healthier body weight.
Rich in Antioxidants:
Clementines with a significant amount of antioxidants that help lower inflammation and shield cells from harm caused by free radicals. As a result, antioxidants can help prevent type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and a variety of other illnesses.
Along with vitamin C, these fruits include a variety of additional citrus antioxidants, such as hesperidin, narirutin, and beta-carotene.
Beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, is commonly found in orange and red plant foods. This potent antioxidant promotes healthy cell development and glucose metabolism.
According to several animal and test-tube experiments, the citrus antioxidant hesperidin is extremely anti-inflammatory, but additional human study is required.
Finally, certain animal and test-tube experiments have shown that narirutin can improve mental health and potentially treat Alzheimer’s disease. Nevertheless, more study of humans is required.
Skin Health Booster:
Clementines are high in vitamin C, which can benefit skin in a variety of ways.
Vitamin C is naturally abundant in your skin because it aids in the formation of collagen, the protein complex that provides your skin with firmness, plumpness, and structure.
That means getting lots of vitamin C in your diet will help your body produce enough collagen to keep your skin looking healthy and potentially younger, as appropriate collagen levels can reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
Vitamin C’s antioxidant activity can also reduce inflammation and reverse free radical damage, perhaps improving acne, redness, and discoloration.
Promoting Healthy Eating Habits:
Clementines are small, simple to peel, delicious, and typically seedless, making them an ideal snack for children.
In fact, most branded clementines are promoted to young children and their parents as a means of increasing fruit consumption.
This is significant since, according to the National Cancer Institute, only roughly one-third of youngsters in the United States consume enough fruit. According to research, not eating enough fruits and vegetables as a youngster might lead to poor eating habits and ill health later in life.
Because clementines are appealing to youngsters and typically inexpensive for their parents, they can help promote fruit consumption and healthy eating habits at an early age.
Downsides
Some studies have discovered that clementines contain furanocoumarins, a chemical found in grapefruit that can interfere with certain heart drugs.
Furanocoumarins, for example, can increase the effectiveness of cholesterol-lowering statins and induce serious problems. As a result, if you use statins, you should limit your consumption of clementines.
Furthermore, furanocoumarins can interact with other groups of medications. Consult your doctor about any potential drug-clementine interactions.
How to eat
To eat clementines, first wash them thoroughly under running water to remove any dirt or residue from the peel. Once washed, peel the clementine with your fingers or create a little incision in the peel before peeling it away.
After peeling, you can eat the pieces individually or place the entire segment in your mouth. Some individuals prefer to remove each segment’s thin white membrane before eating, but this is optional.
Clementines are adaptable and can be eaten as a quick and healthful snack on their own, mixed into fruit salads, or used as a topping for yogurt or oatmeal. They also go well with cheeses and can be used with savory foods like salads or roasted meats for a blast of citrus flavor.
The bottom line
Clementines are little citrus fruits that are easy to peel, seedless, and tasty. As a result, they appeal to young children and can help increase their fruit consumption.
They also include antioxidants that promote health, such as vitamin C and beta-carotene.
They may, however, interact with certain drugs due to their furanocoumarin composition.
Nonetheless, clementines are a fun and nutritious snack for most adults and children.
