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# Eating oranges may lower stroke risk in women
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/oranges_may_lower_stroke_risk_0310120349/
- Published: 2012-03-09T04:48:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T15:46:20.000Z
- Description: Following about 70,000 women in the Nurses' Health Study for 14 years, researchers linked citrus flavanones such as naringenin and hesperetin to lower risk of ischemic stroke. They advise eating whole fruit rather than juice or supplements; vitamin C itself showed no link to stroke risk.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Food, Nutrition, Stroke, Oranges, #vivvo-import

By Maria Cendejas

The latest research that will be published in the April issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, provides another reason why people would be better off eating oranges and citrus fruits regularly. Past research shows that it reduces cholesterol levels and lowers blood pressure. And the new study suggests that it can reduce stroke risk as well.

This research shows that naturally occurring compounds called flavanones found in citrus fruits are linked to reduced risk for ischemic stroke in women. Ischemic stroke occurs when there is a decrease in blood supply to the brain due to a blocked artery. The compounds also improve blood circulation, reduce inflammation and improve overall cardiovascular health.

For the study, the researchers followed a group of 70,000 women participating in the Nurses' Health Study for 14 years. Participants filled out questionnaires every four years to report their eating habits. The research team calculated the flavonoid content in food by using the flavonoid database from the US Department of Agriculture.

Oranges are better than orange juice or supplements

In the study, some women consumed flavonoids by drinking orange and grapefruit juice. The researchers mentioned that it is better to eat the whole fruit to increase intake of the healthy flavanones from citrus fruits.

They also said it's better to eat the whole than taking vitamin C supplements. Vitamin C didn’t correlate with reduction of stroke risk.

They believed flavanones such as naringenin and hesperetin may be responsible because these compounds have strong anti-inflammatory properties. It's known that they also have an effect on the production of nitric oxide which relaxes blood vessels.

Flavanones are also good for men too. Previous research showed that flavonoids in oranges decrease cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure. In a 2011 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that oranges have flavonoid compounds called hesperidin which reduce blood pressure and lower cardiovascular risk. All volunteers in this hesperidin study were men.

Since the link between citrus fruits and reduced stroke risk is based on an observational study, the study authors suggest that randomized trials are needed to confirm the association.