New research shows that drinking orange juice can do more than just give us vitamin C. In a study, adults drank 500ml of pure orange juice each day for two months. After this time, scientists found that gene activity in their blood cells changed, especially genes linked to inflammation and blood pressure.

Scientists say this may be because of hesperidin, a natural substance in oranges. Hesperidin has properties that help decrease swelling in the body and may help control blood pressure.

Because of these changes, drinking orange juice every day could be good for the heart and blood vessels. However, experts say that orange juice has lots of natural sugar and less fibre than whole oranges, so people should not drink too much. Eating whole fruit is still important for good health.