How Many Calories in an Orange

Most dietitians never agree upon a diet plan. Most of them fight and feud in an attempt to prove that their diet plan is better and more effective. As such there are very few foods which dietitians claim to be perfect in all respects and a unanimous component of almost every weight loss diet: the orange. Among the few foods which people at large, do generally accept as a good food for weight loss is the orange. It also has its share of nutrients as well. All these facts bring up the inevitable questions over how many calories does an orange contain and its nutritional facts.

Counting Calories in an Orange

The orange has a very high water content, which dramatically reduces the average calories. On an average, the edible part has a water content of about 85%. The amount of calories also vary depending on the different types of oranges.

The average orange has about 37 calories per 100 gms consumed. So depending on how much you ate, you can do a bit of math and calculate the amount of calories you have consumed. The Clementine orange is lighter, and adds up to 28.5 calories to your daily intake, per 100 gms of it consumed. The Satsuma variety are generally smaller than normal oranges and have fewer seeds also add around 37 calories, per 100 gms eaten.

The commonly known Mandarin orange again has comparatively lower calorific value and contains only 32 calories per 100 gms. The Jaffa orange on the other hand has even lower calories: 25 for every 100 gms eaten.

If you're having fruit juice, then unless it is concentrated, the calories in orange juice will be higher than what you would get from an equivalent amount of oranges. On an average, sweetened orange juices have about 55 calories per 100 ml of juice and the unsweetened variety adds about 40 calories per 100 ml of juice.

You will obviously get a more accurate number for the average calories in the juice by simply looking at the back of the carton of juice. The nutritional facts about the juice are generally given there.

Nutritional Facts

The orange derives most of its calories from the carbohydrate content, and the sugar content to be specific. 100 gm serving of an orange gives you about 11.5 gms of carbohydrates, 9 gms of which are from sugar and around 2.5 are from fiber. The fat and protein components are negligible.

The orange, being a citrus fruit, is rich in vitamin C and researchers claim that 100 gms supplies 45 mg of Vitamin C, which is effectively 75% of the recommended daily intake. Other than that, the orange doesn't have too many nutrients in it.

Oranges must be one of the most delicious, yet low calorie foods which you will ever find. So it is a perfect fruit for weight loss.