Morosil: A New Way to Hack Your Metabolism

You start every morning off with green juice, because who doesn't enjoy drinking salad? You sweat like a hog running laps around your neighborhood. And as much as it pains you, you look the other way when the cheesecake is placed in front of you at the dinner table because your diet doesn't allow it.

You are beautiful at any size. But if weight management is on your list of things to do, you might want to pay more attention to the almighty blood orange and one of its greatest gifts: morosil.

In this article, we'll talk about what morosil is and how this extract can support your health—including how it can promote a healthy body weight. No crash dieting required!

What is morosil?

In a nutshell, morosil is an extract from the juice of the moro blood orange (species name: Citrus sinensis). There are three types of blood oranges: moro, tarocco, and sanguinello. Moro oranges originally come from Sicily. Molto interessante! (Translation: Very interesting.)

We know you might hear the word "blood" and immediately panic, but fret not. The blood orange gets its name from the violet-red color of the flesh inside. On the outside, the peel looks like that of any other orange.

Moro blood oranges have a stronger flavor and smell than other types of blood oranges in the Citrus sinensis family. They're citrusy and sweet, and they're packed with vitamin C, flavonoids, and plenty of other goodies.

What does blood orange do for the body?

The blood orange offers a number of health benefits. Here are just a few ways this citrus can keep you feeling great.

1. Blood orange has a high vitamin C content

Vitamin C is an important antioxidant, and it also helps your body create other antioxidants. Antioxidants protect your body and support good health.

Additionally, vitamin C plays an important role in the production of collagen. We need collagen to form connective tissue and to support the health of our hair, skin, and nails.

While vitamin C is one of the more prominent players in the moro orange, this citrus fruit also has a high content of plenty of other healthy components, including potassium, copper, magnesium, folate, and B vitamins.

2. It might support optimal blood flow to the brain

We mentioned earlier that blood orange contains flavonoids. There are six types of flavonoids, including isoflavones, anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols, flavanones, flavones, and flavonols. They all serve slightly different roles. For instance, anthocyanins support heart and cell health. You can find anthocyanins in purple, red, and blue fruits and vegetables. Isoflavones, on the other hand, are almost solely found in beans.

Now, because these are powerful antioxidants and also support a healthy inflammatory response, as a byproduct, they can support the blood flow to your brain!

3. Blood orange supplements are popular among dieters

While blood oranges themselves offer many benefits, morosil, the extract from this fruit found in supplement form, is often found in the arsenal of dieters. Why? Let's talk about that next.

What does blood orange do for weight loss?

If fat accumulation around your belly or hips is driving you nuts, morosil might be able to help.

For example, in one study lasting six months, one group of participants was given moro blood orange extract and the other group was given a placebo. At the end of the trial, the supplement group demonstrated weight loss in the form of a healthier body mass, body mass index, fat mass, fat distribution, and waist and hip circumference.

We want to note that their progress with weight occurred in conjunction with other positive lifestyle choices! They exercised and reduced their calorie intake.

In another study, participants who took 400 mg of morosil per day for 12 weeks saw a significant reduction in their BMI, and their weight dropped by 4% (compared to 0.5% for the placebo group). They also saw reductions in their waist and hip circumferences.

In yet another fascinating study with mice, blood orange juice was able to inhibit fat accumulation even with the mice being fed a high-fat diet to induce weight gain. Compared to the control group, the mice administered blood orange juice saw an approximate 50% reduction in abdominal fat mass. Researchers also noticed a reduction in the size of their fat cells. And, interestingly, their gene expression profiles were similar to those of mice on a standard diet.

Although this study was not done in humans, it does suggest that morosil can help address fat mass as well as the size of fat cells.

Moving beyond morosil supplements, there are also weight management advantages to consuming blood orange as a whole fruit. For instance, like all fruits and vegetables, it contains fiber. Fiber helps your body appropriately use sugar. Fiber also helps keep you full, which may reduce the amount of calories you eat overall—say goodbye to mindless snacking. Finally, fiber fuels the good bacteria in your gut, which can have a direct impact on your weight (among many other things—there's a reason people are calling the gut the second brain).

So whether you're taking a morosil supplement or enjoying blood orange with your breakfast, you are taking a step in the right direction by adding this nutrient to your routine!

How to take morosil blood orange supplements

How can you get more of this blood orange extract? Through a morosil supplement! You can actually find a tasty, sugar-free* gummy that contains moro blood orange extract. The recommended dosage is 400 mg; as with all supplements, follow the directions for best results.

*Not a low-calorie food.

Other weight management supplements

Everybody's physiology is unique, so a supplement that helps your friend's weight loss journey may not work for you…and that includes morosil supplements. Some other options to consider:

• Capsaicin supplements. Red chili extract has been shown to promote healthy fat burning, aka thermogenesis.
• You might also consider an AMPK activator formula. AMPK is an enzyme, and if you increase how much of it is in your body, it could encourage fat burning, particularly in the belly area.
• Lemon verbena and hibiscus extracts help you feel satisfied, so you won’t overeat and stray from your plan. These extracts help you feel satisfied after a meal so you can maintain a healthy weight for the long term.

Remember that no supplement is a replacement for your other healthy habits. By definition, a supplement should be part of your lifestyle. This is especially the case when it comes to managing your weight. There are no shortcuts or magic tricks (but wouldn't that be nice?).

All of this applies to weight management. This means you move your body a little bit every day, eat plenty of nutrient-dense foods in your diet, handle your stress, and get plenty of shut-eye. Remember that your waist circumference isn't going to drop a few inches overnight. Give yourself time to achieve lasting, sustainable results and reach your body mass index goals.

While you could drink more orange juice (more specifically, moro juice) to try to achieve these results, supplementation can be a smart approach to get what your body needs more efficiently—and without all the calories.

Be picky with the supplements you take! Also, before you consume any new dietary supplements, be sure to talk to your healthcare provider. You should also look into the brand's manufacturing processes and how they source their ingredients so that you're only getting the best of the best.

References

• Briskey D, et al. "Effectiveness of 'Moro' Blood Orange Citrus sinensis Osbeck (Rutaceae) Standardized Extract on Weight Loss in Overweight but Otherwise Healthy Men and Women-A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study." Nutrients. January 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35276783/
• Cardile V, et al. "Clinical evaluation of Moro (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) orange juice supplementation for the weight management." Nat Prod Res. 2015. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25588369/
• Pretorius RA, Palmer DJ. "High-Fiber Diet during Pregnancy Characterized by More Fruit and Vegetable Consumption." Nutrients. December 2020. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7824257/
• Titta L, et al. "Blood orange juice inhibits fat accumulation in mice." Int J Obes (Lond). March 2010. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20029381/
• Zhuo S, et al. "Effects of dietary inflammatory index, blood lead levels, and flavonoid intake on stroke risk in older Americans: A cross-sectional study." Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases. November 2023. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1052305723003592
• "Collagen." Harvard School of Public Health. May 2021. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/collagen/
• "Fiber." Harvard School of Public Health. April 2022. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/fiber/
• "The thinking on flavonoids." Harvard Health Publishing. April 2023. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/the-thinking-on-flavonoids
• "Vitamin C." National Institutes of Health. March 2021. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/