Clementines
Photography and styling by Grain(e)s & co.
Citrus fruits are all the rave in the wintertime. From grapefruit to orange and the smaller mandarins, there's really something for everyone. But let’s take a look at the smallest of them all, the sweet & easy to peel clementine!
Part of your 5-a-day
Clementines are citrus fruit, a cross between a mandarin and a sweet orange. Only 2 clementines are considered 1 portion of fruit for your 5-a-day.
A trick for when buying clementines is to weigh the fruit in your hand, the heavier they feel the juicier they will be!
Vitamin C - immunity, skin health & plant-based iron absorption
Clementines are especially rich in vitamin C, just 2 clementines a day provide practically all our daily requirements of vitamin C. Getting vitamin C daily from our diet is crucial as it is an antioxidant that cannot be stored in the body.
Vitamin C is key to supporting our immune system - helping fight against infection - and can help reduce our cold symptoms and recover faster. It also is an important nutrient for maintaining healthy skin, teeth, gums & bones as it is needed to make and maintain collagen - a protein that forms and keeps the structure of many tissues. Vitamin C protects cells from oxidative damage caused by free radicals - which can affect our health & accelerate ageing.
Vitamin C is an important part of a plant-based diet, as it helps increase the absorption of plant-based iron. Adding clementines alongside a source of plant-based iron (e.g. pulses, nuts & dark leafy greens) will help increase iron absorption.
Beta-carotene - immunity, vision & skin health
Clementines produce beta-carotene, a pro-vitamin A carotenoid - natural pigments responsible for red, yellow and orange colours in plants - which carry out the same job as vitamin A in the body as we absorb and convert them to vitamin A.
Vitamin A helps our immune system do its job normally to defend us against illness and infection by supporting the production of immune cells. Vitamin A is also key for our vision, particularly vision in dim light, and helps keep our skin, mouth, respiratory tract, stomach and intestines healthy.
Additionally, beta-carotene has been shown to play an important role in preventing diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
Dietary Fibre - gut health & digestion
Although a portion of clementines - 2 clementines - only provides around 2 grams of dietary fibre, they are still an easy and delicious way to boost your fibre intake.
Dietary fibre has been shown to feed the good bacteria in our gut, which in turn promotes good gut health. It also bulks up and softens our stool, decreasing constipation and reducing the risk of certain diseases - such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and bowel cancers.
Find out more on my previous blog post: Dietary Fibre.
Easy snack
Clementines are small, easy to peel, sweet and tend to be seedless so they make the perfect on-the-go snack for both children and adults. Clementines also appeal to children - which is why they are often referred to as cuties -, are often inexpensive, and help promote fruit intake.
The take-home:
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References
NHS. Rough guide - Fruit & vegetable portion sizes. Livewell. 2021 https://www.nhs.uk/livewell/5aday/documents/downloads/5aday_portion_guide.pdf
McCance & Widdowson. The Composition of Foods integrated dataset 2021. 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/composition-of-foods-integrated-dataset-cofid
British Nutrition Foundation. Vitamins and Minerals in our Food. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://www.nutrition.org.uk/media/5xeeolog/vitamins-and-minerals-in-our-food-pdf.pdf
NHS. Vitamins and Minerals - Vitamin C. NHS Sources, 03 Aug. 2020, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-c/
Carr AC, Maggini S. Vitamin C and Immune Function. Nutrients. 2017 Nov 3;9(11):1211. doi: 10.3390/nu9111211. PMID: 29099763; PMCID: PMC5707683.
Carr, Anitra; Maggini, Silvia (2017). Vitamin C and Immune Function. Nutrients, 9(11), 1211–. doi:10.3390/nu9111211
NHS. Vitamins and Minerals - Vitamin A. NHS Sources, 03 Aug. 2020, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-a/
Marcelino G, Machate DJ, Freitas KC, Hiane PA, Maldonade IR, Pott A, Asato MA, Candido CJ, Guimarães RCA. β-Carotene: Preventive Role for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity: A Review. Molecules. 2020 Dec 9;25(24):5803. doi: 10.3390/molecules25245803.