Tangerine
Food · Fruit · Food, Typed Supps
Tangerines are a sweet, easy-peel way to get a big dose of vitamin C plus a special orange pigment your body can turn into vitamin A.
Stage by stage
- Peeling & Chewing (Mouth): Peeling releases aromatic oils from the rind while chewing breaks the juicy segments apart, releasing sugars, water, and vitamin C.
- Stomach Breakdown (Stomach): In the stomach, acid and churning further break down the fruit's cell walls, freeing carotenoids like beta-cryptoxanthin for later absorption.
- Intestinal Absorption (Small Intestine): The small intestine absorbs vitamin C through active sodium-dependent transporters, while fat-soluble beta-cryptoxanthin is packaged into micelles with any dietary fat present and taken up by intestinal cells.
- Circulation & Use (Bloodstream): Once absorbed, vitamin C supports collagen synthesis and immune cell function, and some beta-cryptoxanthin is converted in the liver and intestine to vitamin A for use in vision and tissue maintenance.
Timing
Tangerines can be eaten any time of day on their own; pairing them with a small amount of fat (nuts, yogurt) can enhance absorption of their fat-soluble carotenoids.
Time to effect
- Hours to weeks: Vitamin C from a tangerine begins appearing in the bloodstream within a couple of hours and peaks around 4 hours, while benefits tied to beta-cryptoxanthin and vitamin A status build with consistent intake over several weeks.
Allergens
None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.
Eating patterns
Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Keto, Low-FODMAP.
Satiety
The satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings. At 43 kcal per 100 g that is 558 g of this, which is not a serving anyone eats — so the index has nothing to say about it.
Environmental footprint
0.4 kg CO2e and 83 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Citrus fruit" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.
Cost band
Cheap — roughly £3 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.
Key nutrients
Nutrition per 100g
- Calories: 43
- Protein: 1g
- Carbohydrate: 8.1g
- of which sugars: 8.1g
- Fat: 0.2g
- of which saturated: 0g
- Fibre: 1.5g
- Sodium: 2mg
Food vs. supplement
A medium tangerine provides about 23.5 mg of vitamin C (26% DV) plus fiber, potassium, and carotenoids that an isolated vitamin C supplement doesn't include.
Kitchen tip
Choose tangerines that feel heavy for their size with slightly loose skin — that looseness makes them easy to peel and often signals a juicier fruit than one with tight, thin skin.
Common myth
"All citrus fruits, including tangerines, interact with medications the same way grapefruit does." In reality: Tangerines and mandarins contain little to no furanocoumarins, the compound class responsible for grapefruit's CYP3A4-mediated drug interactions; analytical studies of commercial tangerines and tangelos found levels too low to be clinically significant, making tangerines a safer citrus choice for most people on medication.
More in Fruit
In the glossary
Sources