Blood Orange

Why blood orange is rated low

Blood orange is low FODMAP overall. That rating is estimated from what the fruit is made of, not from a measured serving. A Small serving reads LOW and a Large serving reaches MODERATE, so it fits well as a snack or a salad ingredient. The load builds when you eat a lot in one sitting or drink it as juice. Its deep red flesh and berry-like flavour do not change the picture: it rates like the citrus fruit it is.

What changes your risk

• Serving size The ladder goes from LOW at a Small serving to MODERATE at a Large serving, so a Large serving in one sitting is where it stops being low.
• Juicing Juice packs more fruit into one drink than you would eat whole and leaves the fibre behind, so blood orange juice runs higher than the whole fruit.
• Fruit stacking A fruit salad that combines blood orange with other fruit adds up in one sitting. Pairing it with mango, apple or stone fruit raises the load further.
• Spreading servings out The same amount of fruit is easier to manage spread across the day than eaten all at once.
• Sodas and syrups Blood orange sodas and syrups can be sweetened with high fructose corn syrup or agave, so the label decides those, not the fruit.

What else works

Close citrus cousins also sit low, including oranges and mandarins. Kiwi, strawberries and pineapple give similar brightness in a fruit salad. The lookalikes that are NOT low are blood orange juice by the glass, fruit salads padded out with mango, apple or stone fruit, and blood orange sodas or syrups sweetened with high fructose corn syrup or agave. If you want more citrus later in the day, mandarin works well.

How to keep it low

Choose fruit that feels heavy for its size with firm, tight skin. Blood oranges keep a few days at room temperature and longer in the fridge. Cut away the peel and pith and cut the fruit into rounds or segments for salads with baby spinach, walnuts and a dressing of garlic-infused oil. Keep each sitting to a Small serving. If you want the colour in a drink, add fresh blood orange to sparkling water rather than pouring a glass of juice.

Common questions

is blood orange low fodmap

Yes. Blood orange is rated low FODMAP overall, estimated from what it is made of. It reads LOW at a Small serving and climbs to MODERATE at a Large serving.

how much blood orange can i eat on low fodmap

A Small serving reads LOW. A Large serving reaches MODERATE, so it is best to spread blood orange across the day rather than eating a Large serving at once.

is blood orange juice low fodmap

Juice packs more fruit into one drink than you would eat whole, so it runs higher than the whole fruit. Eating the fruit whole keeps you closer to the Small serving that reads LOW.

is blood orange the same as regular orange for fodmap

Both are low FODMAP citrus, and the same rules apply to each: eat the whole fruit, watch the serving size and spread servings across the day.