Is orange good for diabetics?
Orange is a low-glycemic food: its glycemic index is 45 (one lab test). A serving of 1 cup sections no membranes (5.8 oz, 165 g) has 19.5 g of carbs and 3.3 g of fiber, a glycemic load of about 7.
This page is for people with diabetes or prediabetes. The glycemic index compares foods, and the glycemic load on this page adjusts it for a real serving. If you follow a meal plan from your care team, use these numbers within it.
Carbs in a serving
| Per 1 cup sections no membranes (5.8 oz, 165 g) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total carbohydrate | 19.5 g |
| Fiber | 3.3 g |
| Sugars | 14.1 g |
| Carbs minus fiber | 16.2 g |
| Glycemic load (GI × carbs minus fiber ÷ 100) | 7 |
USDA FoodData Central, Oranges, raw, navels. Glycemic load uses the median GI below.
Glycemic index tests
| Food as tested | GI | Category | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oranges, navel | 45 | low | Australia |
Glucose = 100. Categories from the International Tables: low 55 or less, medium 56 to 69, high 70 or more. Only tests that met the ISO 26642:2010 method (Supplemental Table 1).
Compared with similar foods
| Food | Portion | GI | Carbs | Glycemic load |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange | 1 cup sections no membranes (5.8 oz, 165 g) | 45 | 19.5 g | 7 |
| Watermelon | 1 cup, balls (5.4 oz, 154 g) | 50 | 11.6 g | 6 |
| Apple | 1 cup, quartered or chopped (4.4 oz, 125 g) | 44 | 17.3 g | 6 |
| Banana | 1 banana, peeled (4.1 oz, 115 g) | 52 | 26.4 g | 13 |
Same food group in the International Tables, each at its usual US portion (USDA).
How much the glycemic index matters
Studies and guidelines do not agree on how much weight to give the glycemic index.
- Level C A year after the World Health Organization set the glycemic index aside, a meta-analysis of cohorts each over a hundred thousand people linked high glycemic index diets to more diabetes, heart disease and death. Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2024
- Level E The World Health Organization examined the glycemic index, found it inconsistent, and refused to build guidance on it. Carbohydrate intake for adults and children: WHO guideline, 2023
- Level C Glycemic index and glycemic load, the other two ways of judging carbohydrate, held up far worse than fiber in the same analysis. Reynolds et al., The Lancet, 2019
What studies found about orange
- Level A Across 10 randomized trials pooled in 2022, orange juice lowered fasting glucose by 2.92 mg/dl, total cholesterol by 9.84 mg/dl and LDL cholesterol by 9.14 mg/dl compared with control, and those effects held mainly where people drank 17 fl oz (500 ml) a day or more. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2022
- Level C Observational data pooled from 5 cohorts found no link between eating fruit during pregnancy and gestational diabetes, and a 5% lower risk with more fruit before pregnancy. Complement Ther Med, 2020
- Level C In a Chinese study of 2,987 pregnant women, eating more apples and oranges in mid-pregnancy was linked with less gestational diabetes, while fruit juice and grapes were linked with more. Clin Nutr ESPEN, 2021
Levels: A is a meta-analysis of trials, B a randomized trial, C an observational study, D lab or animal work, E an expert position. How we grade evidence.
In practice
A cup of orange sections has 19.5 g of carbs and 3.3 g of fiber, a glycemic load of about 7. The single ISO test of navel oranges gave a GI of 45.
The whole fruit and the juice are different choices. Orange juice keeps the sugar and loses most of the fiber, which is why it has its own page.
If you count carbs, one cup of sections is a clear unit to count.
Written from the agency positions and data on this page, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.
Keep exploring
Sources
- Atkinson FS et al. International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values 2021: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr 2021;114(5):1625-1632, Supplemental Table 1, PMID 34258626, doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqab233 (accessed 2026-10-12)
- USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods (release 2025-12-18): Oranges, raw, navels, FDC ID 746771
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (2018): Watermelon, raw, FDC ID 167765
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (2018): Apples, raw, with skin (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), FDC ID 171688
- USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods (release 2025-12-18): Bananas, ripe and slightly ripe, raw, FDC ID 1105314
- Evidence cards: each study above links to its source. Card review dates are listed in our methodology.
Sources checked 2026-10-12. Bioma Learn provides information, not medical advice.