Often called the “king of fruits”, mangoes or Mangifera Indica comes in many varieties and is mainly grown in India, Thailand, Africa, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Guatemala, and Haiti. When it is just right, a mango will be firm, juicy, sweet with just a touch of tartness. This makes it a winning ingredient in many desserts, especially ice creams, frozen yogurts, soufflés, jams, preserves, sauces and more. It is also used in many savory dishes to add depth and texture.
Delicious taste aside, the tropical fruit is packed with good-for-you nutrients that boost well being. The health benefits of mango mainly come from the gamut of vitamins–they contain over 20 different vitamins. A cup of mango contains only 100 calories and offers 100 percent of your body’s vitamin C requirement and 35 percent of vitamin A requirement. It also provides 12 percent of your daily fiber needs. What’s more, there’s no cholesterol, sodium or fat in mango.1
Mangoes are also a rich source of carotenes. Interestingly, the variety of carotenes is higher in unripe mangoes compared to ripe ones. Only unripe mangoes contain lutein and ζ-carotene, whereas γ-carotene and beta-carotene are present in all the stages of ripening. This means green mangoes pack more health punch than the ripe ones.2
And if you can consume mangoes with the peel, even better. Mango peels have higher amounts of antioxidants compared to the flesh. Peels also hold the ability to prohibit the cancer cells from spreading more effectively than any other part of the mango.3
Nonetheless, mangoes are preferred in their sweet, peel-free and ripe version and also offer a treasure trove of benefits.
Health Benefits Of Mangoes
1. Prevents And Stops Cancer
When mango polyphenol extracts were tested on colon, breast, lung, leukemia and prostate cancer cells in the lab, it was observed that it showed most promising results on breast and colon cancer cells. While mango destroyed the cancerous cells in the colon, it did not harm the healthy cells.4
2. Fights Fat
There’s one more reason to feast on mango–it actually helps modulate body fat! According to a study, when rats fed with a high-fat diet for eight weeks were made to ingest freeze-dried mango pulp, they accumulated less body fat.5
3. Improves Glucose Control
Well, who would have known that the deliciously sweet mango could help diabetics? In a study to understand the effect of freeze-dried mango supplementation on clinical parameters of pre-diabetic individuals, it was found that the blood glucose levels decreased and insulin levels increased in individuals supplemented with freeze-dried mangoes.6
Mango has proven to have antidiabetic action in animal models. A human study on obese individuals who were asked to consume mango regularly revealed a positive effect on their blood glucose, in particular on their fasting sugar levels. The male participants even reported reduced hip circumference.7
4. Great For The Heart
Many constituents in mangoes protect us from a host of conditions that spell trouble for our ticker. Its anthocyanins are said to have therapeutic activities on human diseases related to oxidative stress such as coronary heart disease, inflammation, and subsequent blood vessel damage. It also reduces the risk of congestive heart failure and the deposit of plaque in the arteries.8
5. Prevents Inflammation
Mangoes have anti-inflammatory qualities which protect us from a range of inflammatory diseases like arthritis, acne, asthma, celiac disease and more.9
6. Protects Your Liver
Mangoes fight oxidative stress and that largely benefits the liver. Thanks to its polyphenols, mango pulp extract has shown to combat oxidative stress-induced cellular injury to the liver of mice by modulating cell growth regulators.10
The iron-complexing ability of mango is a primary mechanism for protection of liver and reduces iron-induced oxidative damage owing to abnormal iron distribution or iron overload in the cells.11
7. Boosts Immunity
Mangiferin, a polyphenolic compound in mangoes, offers a wide range of health benefits. One of them is enhanced immunity. It stimulates and activates our immune system. The benefits of Indian mango have been reaped by many Ayurvedic practitioners to treat immunodeficiency diseases.12
8. Keeps Bones Strong
Mango has been observed to prevent bone resorption. Simply put, it prohibits the loss and transfer of calcium from the bone tissue to the bloodstream.13
9. Reduces Cholesterol
Studies reveal that mango is not just a zero-cholesterol fruit, but is also potent at reducing lipid levels in serums and tissues. The flavonoids from mango helped reduce the cholesterol levels in rats induced with hyperlipidemia.14
10. Anti-Ageing Agent For Eyes
A diet loaded with fruits and veggies protects your peepers as you age. If those fruits and veggies are rich in antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids like mangoes, they play a significant role in age-related macular degeneration. According to a study on men and women aged 50 and above, it was observed that a high rate of fruit intake was associated with protecting the retina from oxidative damage.15
Is Mango Safe During Pregnancy?
Are there any mango benefits in pregnancy? Mango is a rich source of phytoestrogens, polyphenols, calcium, iron and potassium. All of these play an important role in bone and dental growth and development. When mango was supplemented to pregnant mice to see the effects on the embryo, it was found that it did not threaten the pregnancy in any way. No abnormalities were noticed in bone, cartilage, liver, spleen, kidney, digestive tract and spinal cord tissues of the embryo. You can safely enjoy this delicious fruit during pregnancy as it improves bone and dental tissues growth and development.16
Though it is high in calories, it is a wonderful natural dessert full of natural fruit sugars. You may not want to overindulge if you have increased chances of gestational diabetes.
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