Could blood orange be the key to sustainable weight loss? Researchers think so

When someone mentions weight loss, you probably think about exercise and low-calorie foods like salad. Training is essential, but new research suggests that eating blood oranges could unlock sustainable weight loss.

If your goal is to drop pounds, you'll want to train with the best exercise machines to lose weight for a mix of cardio and resistance-based workouts. Traditionally, the advice was also to eat less, especially naturally sugary foods like fruit.

Interestingly, new research suggests that fruit isn't so bad for us after all. For the study, participants were placed in a supplement or placebo group for six months. The supplement takers were asked to take a blood orange extract each day.

Both groups were given the same general advice about staying active to tease out the effects. Likewise, the team requested all participants walk for 30 minutes three times per week. They were also given an energy-controlled diet.

At the end of six months, the blood orange group had lost an average of 4.2% of their starting body weight, while the placebo cohort had a less sizeable 2.2% reduction. Similarly, more people in the blood orange group lost over 5% of their starting body weight.

Importantly, these changes came predominately from reductions in body fat, including abdominal fat. If you coupled this with the best workouts for abs, you'd be on your way to six-pack muscle and a stronger core in no time.

For this trial, the researchers used an extract from the Moro blood orange, which has vivid red flesh. So, it's not clear whether you'd see the same effect from the Tarocco and Sanguinello varieties.

Still, there are other reasons you might want to add blood oranges to your diet, as the fruit is high in Vitamin C and fiber. Like with most things, the key is to eat it in moderation.

It's also worth noting that the study coupled blood oranges with weight loss staples like an energy-restricted diet and regular exercise. You don't necessarily have to follow a low-calorie diet, though, as you can get sustainable results by learning how to eat healthily.

One of the core aspects of a healthier diet is cooking meals from scratch where possible. You can take things a step further by using one of the best air fryers or best grills to cook food and reduce the fat content of your meals.