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One can distinguish mandarins from fruits of other citrus fruits in a slightly flattened form, small compared to oranges or grapefruit, in size and high sugar content in juicy pulp, divided depending on the variety into 8–12 slices. Tangerines and bright orange peel stand out, which in most ripe fruits are easily separated, and sometimes even lags behind the pulp.
China is considered the homeland of these sweet fruits, but from the 19th century, when the mandarins were first brought to the Old World, tangerine orchards appeared in the Mediterranean countries and in North Africa. Juicy citrus fruits are now familiar to most people in most countries in Asia and South America. And the most northern planting tangerine trees are located in the North Caucasus and the Krasnodar Territory.
There are a lot in common between mandarins, for example, from Abkhazia and Japan, but there are also differences, for example, in sizes and shades of aroma, number of stones and slices, sugar content and acids.
However, all tangerines are a storehouse of useful substances and a sea of pleasure for small and adult gourmets.
What are the benefits of tangerines, and is there any harm from eating orange juice full of fruit?
What are mandarins useful for?
And the usefulness of mandarins can be judged by the set of biologically active substances.100 grams of pulp low-calorie mandarin is present:
- 88.5 grams of moisture;
- 0.8 grams of protein;
- 0.2 grams of fat;
- 7.5 grams of carbohydrates represented by sucrose, fructose and glucose.
The remaining grams are in acids, fiber, pectins and ash. What is useful tangerines?
Besides the fact that orange sweet fruits quench thirst well and are an excellent source of carbohydrates, mandarins are distinguished by a rich set of macronutrients.
Calcium is among such substances, not only providing strength to bones and teeth, but also indispensable in the mechanism of muscle contraction, the work of the nervous system and responsible for blood clotting. Potassium in mandarin lobules also provides neural activity and, to some extent, provides heart rate and oxygen access to the brain. Mandarins are rich in such valuable elements for the body as magnesium and sodium, phosphorus and a number of other equally popular substances.
The trace elements in the fruit are represented by iron, a substance indispensable for the synthesis of hemoglobin. What is useful tangerines, so it is the amount of the most different vitamins. Such a set, which includes ascorbic acid, vitamin PP and beta-carotene, B1, B2, B6 and E, is envied by modern multivitamin complexes. In the peel, seeds and partly in the pulp contains flavonoids and phytoncides, essential oils and the glycoside tangeuritin, called in honor of one of the varieties of cultural mandarin.
Useful properties and rules for using mandarinsMandarin peel after thorough washing will give fresh citrus notes to baking and tea, rice dishes and sea fish. The dietary and culinary value of fruits is undoubted, and why are tangerines useful as a therapeutic and prophylactic agent? Vitamins and other substances in the composition of the pulp allow us to conclude about the effective use of mandarins for colds as a natural antipyretic, giving strength and anti-inflammatory agent.
Read also: Mandarin - what you need to know about the care of an exotic plant
If the cold is accompanied by a sharp, obsessive cough, tangerine pulp or fresh juice will help:
- to soften the throat;
- facilitate sputum discharge;
- to decontaminate the mucous membrane and reduce inflammation.
Mandarins can remove or prevent even asthmatic manifestations.
After getting rid of a cold, bronchitis or more serious diseases, you should not give up tangerines, currants and other fruits and berries. Their sweet slices, not worse than expensive vitamin preparations, help to restore the body, replenish it with microelements and vitamins, take care of immunity and speedy recovery of efficiency.
Gastrointestinal disorders associated with lethargy of the digestive processes, low acidity or dyspepsia, these are exactly the situations where mandarins are useful and can improve your well-being.
In addition, citrus stimulates appetite, has anti-parasitic, antifungal, disinfecting effect. Moreover, this property applies not only to the digestive organs. Compresses or lotions from the pulp or juice of mandarin are effective for fungal infections.
Regular but careful use of tangerine zest decoction helps diabetic patients control sugar levels and thus improve their well-being.
Mandarins in Pregnancy
The question of whether pregnant women can eat tangerines does not lose its relevance for many decades. Skeptics emphasize the supposedly high risk of allergic reactions in the future mother and baby.
Today there is another opinion. According to him, more than in mandarins, the number of allergens is in chicken eggs, peanuts, and caviar of many species of fish. At the same time, tangerines have a lot of useful properties that are very valuable for the health of the woman and the development of the fetus:
- Sweet fruits, especially in the off-season and winter time, have a pronounced anti-cold effect.
- With moderate use, tangerines will protect against intestinal infections.
- Carbohydrates and acids in fruits, including ascorbic, provide a quick replenishment of energy reserves.
- It is important that due to the high content of potassium, mandarin juice or a few eaten slices will relieve the edemas associated with pregnancy.
- A increased risk of caries and deterioration of bone quality levels calcium and phosphorus.
- Even the nervous tension and depressions that occur during pregnancy, mandarins can be removed due to the presence of such an element as magnesium.
Read also: The benefits and harms of watermelon seeds for our health 
You should not forget about the dangers of allergies. If a woman before pregnancy, the use of mandarins caused problems with health, the fruit will have to be abandoned.
If there are no disturbing symptoms, a small amount of juice, one or a couple of mandarins - not to the detriment, but to the good.
Who are harmful mandarins harmful?
Contraindications to the use of mandarins in any form are such diseases of the digestive system as gastritis, accompanied by the production of excessive amounts of acid, gastric or duodenal ulcer, enteritis and colitis.
Both the benefits and harms of mandarins depend on the presence of extremely active biochemical compounds in their pulp.
Therefore, in this case, the abundance of own acids in fruits will only aggravate the condition. Waiting for acute illness can also be those who suffer from kidney disease, pancreatitis and cholecystitis. Because of the high concentration of sugars, diabetics need caution in consuming a vitamin delicacy. However, all these warnings relate to excessive amounts of citrus. In reasonable quantities, tangerines can be eaten by everyone except children up to three years old.
Video about the mandarin
Gastrointestinal disorders associated with lethargy of the digestive processes, low acidity or dyspepsia, these are exactly the situations where mandarins are useful and can improve your well-being. The question of whether pregnant women can eat tangerines does not lose its relevance for many decades. Skeptics emphasize the supposedly high risk of allergic reactions in the future mother and baby. You should not forget about the dangers of allergies. If a woman before pregnancy, the use of mandarins caused problems with health, the fruit will have to be abandoned. Contraindications to the use of mandarins in any form are such diseases of the digestive system as gastritis, accompanied by the production of excessive amounts of acid, gastric or duodenal ulcer, enteritis and colitis. 
