Just Ask Jase: 50 Shades of Orange

Hey Jase,

Winter is my favourite season, simply because mandarins are in and super cheap.
I’ve developed a four to five a day habit. Is eating this many mandarins bad for me?
Should I seek help and curb my habit?

– Slowly Turning Orange

Hello Slowly Turning Orange!
Mandarins are a fantastic fruit, packed with the immune boosting vitamin C. It is quite common to hear that when fruit is seasonal (and cheap) people tend to gravitate towards one type more than others. In regards to the volume of mandarins in your dependency, there are a number of ways you can look at the situation which give a good indication of whether this may be too much for you:

1. Given the elevated rates of colds and flu that seem to be more prevalent in the colder months, making sure that you reach your Vitamin C intake (as a preventative measure) to strengthen your immune system is a positive thing.
2. Given you are eating that amount, I would take a tentative guess it may not be all in one sitting? If this is true, you are consuming regular snacks throughout the day, which does have some evidence behind it to promote a higher metabolism as opposed to an eating pattern that was more sporadic in nature.
3. Current Australian guidelines for general good health state that you only need two serves of fruit each day (variety is recommended give the different vitamin and mineral content within different fruits). Your next question is, what is one serve of fruit?
   Well, one serve of fruit is equivalent to one medium piece, or two small pieces, or 150grams if you were to weight your fruit. So unless you are having “supersized” mandarins, you may actually just be over-shooting this guideline as mandarins are traditionally smaller in size.
4. Are you very active? If so, mandarins are great to power your activity as they are a food rich in the nutrient of carbohydrate (your rocket-fuel nutrient). If you are less active however, this may be too much for you (imagine the analogy of filling up your car’s petrol tank, and then parking it in the driveway all day). Our body is very good at holding on to excess fuel we put into our body, and converting it to excess bodyfat for an emergency fuel source later on.
   That being said, your main concern here is calorie content within your diet. If your mandarin obsession is fitting in with your daily calorie requirements (again, think of your daily calorie requirement as how much petrol you need each day to power you along), then you should avoid excess weight gain.
5. Turning orange should not happen to you from the mandarins. This is more associated to those who LOVE their carrots, or foods rich what is called (carotenes). The natural pigment from these foods can accumulate within you and provide that “orange tinge” to your skin. Not a problem for your mandarin obsession at the amounts you have detailed.

All in all, your love for mandarins is by far and away not the worst food obsession I have ever seen. The main thing to think about, is keeping it within your calorie amounts to ensure excess weight gain does not occur, and if you want to enhance your performance levels when active it would be best to consume these foods closer to your time of activity (food as fuel approach).
Keep these in mind, and you can have your small bag of mandarins, and eat them too!
For more information on how you can achieve your health, weight loss or performance goals whilst still being able to enjoy the foods you love, be sure to contact Enliven Nutrition about their fantastic Food As Fuel Program today!

 

— Jase

 

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