The Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) reported that a recent study suggests regular orange juice consumption may support heart health while improving blood pressure regulation, lipid metabolism and inflammation. However, benefits can differ from person to person based on body weight.
This clinical intervention study examined how drinking orange juice every day affects the body at the molecular level and whether these effects differ between people of normal weight and those who are overweight.
Twenty healthy adults drank 16.9 ounces of orange juice daily for 60 days. Researchers analyzed their blood cells before and after the study to see which genes changed activity. They found that over 1,700 genes were affected, along with several types of non-coding RNAs that help regulate gene expression. Most of the changes were related to blood pressure, inflammation and lipid metabolism.
For example, genes linked to inflammation, such as IL6 and IL1β, were downregulated, suggesting that orange juice may help reduce inflammation. Other genes involved in regulating blood pressure and lipid metabolism were also affected.
This study showed that flavonoids in orange juice, like hesperidin and naringenin, may interact with important cellular pathways that influence heart health and metabolism. In the overweight group, genes related to lipid metabolism changed the most, while in the normal weight group, genes related to inflammation were more affected. This shows gene expression effects varied depending on body weight.
The full study is described in a Molecular Nutrition and Food Research article. The article’s authors are with the University of São Paulo, North Carolina State University and University of California, Davis.
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