How Many Mandarins a Day (Benefits, Nutrition Facts + More)

Do you know how many Mandarins can I eat a day without side effects? this is one of the questions our readers ask a lot. Well, we´ve got you covered.

Let’s face it, mandarins left out in full view are not long for this world – you’re gonna eat ‘em! If you’re wondering, however, ‘

So, how many mandarins can I eat a day? It is recommended to eat a maximal 4 to 5 mandarins per day, depending on your tolerance. While delicious, mandarins are citrus fruits and as such, they’ve got a lot of sugar and natural acidity to them. Simply put, mandarins are delicious and nutritious, but in large amounts, they are also a risk for cavities or a tummyache.

To answer this question comprehensively, we’ll use the smallest mandarins as a baseline, layout their nutritional content, and expand on the caveats of these citrus wonders a little more so that you understand the benefits and risks.

Let’s talk about Mandarin and what you need to know!

Table of Contents

Setting a baseline: The smallest Mandarin

The easiest way to approach the questions about ‘how many mandarins can I eat a day?’ is to set a baseline. To do this, we’ll take the smallest mandarin, which is called a ‘clementine’. At just 35 calories, they are already a pretty excellent snack, as you won’t have to worry about watching your weight.

From a vitamin perspective, they are also pretty solid – just one of these 35-calorie clementines gives you 26% of our daily recommended dosage of vitamin C.

It also has less than 1 gram of fat, as well as less than a gram of protein, and you also get Magnesium and Potassium in the bargain.

With such a high Vitamin C content, however, just 4 of these mandarins can get you 100% of your daily recommended amount but eating more of them is where it can get problematic.

Too much vitamin C is unlikely to harm you, but it can give you a headache, heartburn, nausea, or even diarrhea.

As with everything, Moderation is really going to be key here.

While they are delicious, they’re acidic too

Part of the stomach risks from going ‘Mandarin’mad’ and gobbling up an unhealthy amount of these fruits is the simple fact that they are from the citrus family. Citrus fruits are quite yummy, but they are also acidic. While it’s milder, imagine that you were instead biting into a lemon.

That acidic bite that you get with the mouthful of sour flavor is the reason that lemons are so sour. Wo, while mandarins are super sweet, you need to remember that if you eat enough of them, in a way it’s like eating lemons with a little less acid.

The good news is that mandarins definitely have a lower acidity than lemons. The lower the PH level, the higher the acid content, and lemons have a pH of 2 compared to mandarin’s 7 or 8 pH level.

Ultimately it will depend on your stomach and whether or not it is sensitive to acidic foods, but if you eat a lot of mandarins, you just need to understand that even with their small pH, that acidity can add up if you overdo it.

They’re good in the ‘sugar’ category, though

While too many mandarins can overdo your recommended Vitamin C or give you a sore tummy from their natural acidity, the good news is that the natural sugars of these fruits are pretty healthy for you.

While they have about 7.8 grams of sugars in their content, as they are natural, you can eat them without having to worry.

Citrus fruits such as mandarins are even considered to be ‘superfoods’ for diabetics. With their low GI (Glycemic index) rating these fruits allow diabetics to eat a sweet treat that raises blood glucose levels very slowly.

This means that mandarins are an excellent way to get a ‘sugary’ snack that may be enjoyed safely whether you are diabetic or not… just make sure it’s fresh, not canned, or otherwise preserved!

That said, 4 to 5 mandarins a day is still the best unless you’ve got a ‘cast-iron’ stomach, so try to keep that in mind if you decide to stock up on mandarins for those moments you want to treat yourself.

Your ‘Mandarin mileage’ may vary

While 4 to 5 is the recommended number of mandarins we’ve advised (and we’re sticking to!), you won’t run into people who can eat 8, 10, or even 15 of these delicious fruits and seemingly suffer no ill effects.

That’s just because everyone’s body is a little different and so tolerance levels for each person can vary quite a bit.

Ultimately, the best thing to do if you REALLY want to eat a more than 4 to 5 mandarins is to consider the calorie count, get yourself a notepad, and keep track of the mandarins that you consume.

Just remember that too much vitamin C isn’t really all that good for you and extra acidity in your stomach might also lead to problems down the road. As such, once you know the amount that you can consume and still feel okay, get the final word from your doctor.

That way, if you don’t like our ‘4 to 5 a day’ recommendation then you’ve certainly got options, and if your doctor gives you their blessing to consume more than that regularly, then consider us envious! Mandarins really are that good, after all, so if your doctor says it’s okay then enjoy them to your heart’s content!

Some final words on Mandarin mastication

Today we’ve answered the question ‘how many mandarins can I eat a day?’ and we hope that you’ve found all you need to know in the limited space that we’ve had for you today.

Even the smallest mandarins give you 24% of your daily recommended vitamin C, so they’re definitely good for you and also as sweet as can be!

Even so, 4 to 5 a day is our recommendation as far as mandarin snacking goes, but you can certainly eat more if your stomach allows it and if your doc doesn’t think it will be an issue.

Thanks for reading and if you will kindly excuse us, we have some urgent mandarin cravings that simply must be dealt with!

References

https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-clementines

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/are-oranges-good-for-diabetics