If we have to choose the “king” fruit, which one will you come up with? Some might think of apples immediately (undeniably, health benefits of apples are impressive).
Others may be confused among too many delicious and beneficial fruits.
In fact, mangoes have won this title. For thousands of years, mango has been called this way.
The sweet and tasty flavor is a huge advantage, but the mango nutrition facts and health benefits are those that bring a victory to this fruit in the run to the title. In India, many sacred rituals have even included the appearance of mangoes which symbolize life.
Nowadays, the production of mangoes around the world has reached up to more than 18 million tons annually. Even though mangoes originated from the southeast Asia, it is produced most in Mexico in this day and age. The origin of mangoes can be traced back to over 6,000 years ago.
There are more than 1,000 different types of mangoes in the globe, but we often know only green and yellow mangoes which will turn into red or orange after ripening.
To explain the amazing health benefits of mangoes, it is important to check the mango nutrition facts first.
Mango Nutrition Facts
While this fruit contains little (or even zero) saturated fat and cholesterol, there are considerable numbers of vitamins and minerals (1).
Vitamin C is one of the brightest stars in mango nutrition with about 30 mg per 100 grams of serving. It is responsible for many health benefits of mangoes, such as fighting against inflammation. Vitamin A is also outstanding with about 700 IU per 100 grams of mangoes.
Besides, mangoes provide a variety of vitamins B, from B1, B6 to B9, B12 with different impacts on human body.
Regarding its richness of minerals, people can take magnesium, copper, or potassium from mangoes with significant amount. Beta-carotene and quercetin which play an important role in the fight against free radicals are also present in mangoes.
Last but not least, mangoes do not surrender other fruits in terms of fiber content.
Health Benefits of Mango
Now you understand the mango nutrition facts and perhaps have a glimpse of their generous benefits.
Below is a list of top 10 mango nutrition facts and benefits which may add some useful information to persuade you to eat this fruit more often.
1. Heat Stroke Prevention
One of the very common health benefits of mangoes is to reduce the risk of heat stroke – a problem caused by the body’s fluid reduction.
The great amount of potassium in mangoes can keep the level of sodium stable and then, control your body’s amount of fluid (2, 3).
Once you can guarantee a stable fluid level, you are less likely to experience heart stroke, even in summer days.
Therefore, you had better consume ripe mangoes. Some suggest that soaking ripe mangoes in water first will maximize their cooling quality.
Besides, a drink from mangoes is also very popular to prevent heat stroke. You just need to follow some simple steps.
- Get 2 raw mangoes into water and boil them.
- When the mangoes become soft, leave them cool.
- Get their pulp squeezed and added into cool water.
- You can use sugar or salt to have the flavor you wish.
The habit of drinking 1-2 cups of this will be very beneficial for you in summer.
Bottom Line: Mangoes supply your body with fluid and minimizes your risk of undergoing heat stroke.
2. Vision
Undeniably, when it comes to the richness of vitamin A, it is inevitable that one of the health benefits of mangoes will be on our eyes.
Vitamin A is essential to good eyesight. Additionally, it protects you from many eye problems, such as cataracts or night blindness (4).
Notably, mangoes are good for the eyes because of not only vitamin A, but also flavonoids.
Alpha-carotene and beta-carotene found in mangoes both contribute to good vision.
The recommendation for you is to consume a mango on a daily basis so as to develop your eye health.
Bottom Line: Vitamin A and some flavonoids, such as beta-carotene, make mangoes a wonderful food for better vision.
3. Digestion
With a remarkable amount of fiber, one of the best health benefits of mangoes is to improve the digestion.
Fiber has great influence on the bowel movements and the body’s ability to eradicate waste products (5, 6).
In 2013, a research of the Gastroenterology claimed that mangoes are beneficial for the prevention against gastrointestinal disorders, namely, Crohn’s disease.
If you suffer from stomach ulcers or constipation, this fruit can help as well.
Mangoes contain some enzymes which make it easier to break down proteins and carbohydrates. Therefore, the foods inside your body will transform into energy more easily.
4. Immunity
The abundance of vitamin C in mangoes has already indicated its great influence on our immune system.
In other words, one of the greatest health benefits of mangoes is to enhance the immunity (7).
This quality also results from mango’s content of beta-carotene which is a beneficial carotenoid to fight against toxins and bacteria.
When your body gets an excessive amount of beta-carotene, the transformation from it into vitamin A will take place (8).
Notably, this vitamin makes contributions to the fight against free radicals.
5. Cholesterol
Maintaining a stable level of cholesterol is one among top health benefits of mangoes.
Mangoes contain some important nutrients that have cholesterol-lowering qualities, such as vitamin C, fiber or pectin (9, 10, 11).
They limit the growth of bad cholesterol and triglycerides. In addition, the number of good cholesterol will increase thanks to these nutrients.
Another essential element of mangoes responsible for this benefit is potassium.
It stimulates the blood circulation in your nervous system and therefore, regulates your blood pressure and heart rate.
This will help you stay away from heart diseases, such as strokes or heart attacks.
6. Cancer
Being rich in vitamin C, fiber and containing some enzymes and phenols, mangoes give scientists a hope for preventing cancer.
According to some studies, with their high number of antioxidant compounds, health benefits of mangoes might include the prevention against a variety of cancer, such as colon, prostate, breast or even skin cancer.
Researchers explain that mangoes provide powerful anti-carcinogenic substances, for example, quercetin, gallic acid, isoquercitrin, fisetin and astragalin (12, 13, 14, 15).
They will limit the development of cancer cells, which prevents the damage to other healthy cells in the body (16).
According to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, consuming mango smoothies once or twice per day is a good way to support cancer prevention and treatment.
Bottom Line: Mangoes have many vitamins, minerals and compounds that are suitable for cancer prevention.
7. Brain
In the list of top mangoes health benefits, even the brain is mentioned as well.
The journal Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity published a research indicating the role of some important nutrients of mangoes.
Glutamine acid present much in mangoes has positive impacts on human memory and mental alertness (17, 18).
Furthermore, vitamin B6 which is commonly known to cement brain health is also found in mangoes (19).
With these substances, mangoes can definitely maximize the effective function of your brain and lower the risk of oxidative stress.
Bottom Line: Mangoes are a promising food to help you become better at memory and concentration.
8. Anemia & Pregnancy
Iron is another element of mangoes that people should pay attention to.
It constitutes several health benefits of mangoes, for pregnant women or those with anemia.
First, during pregnancy time, iron plays an essential role in women’s body (20).
Even though they can get iron tablets easily, it is a better idea to absorb iron from natural ingredients, such as mangoes.
No side effect is witnessed with the use of juicy mangoes.
Second, for ordinary people, adding iron into meals is important because it will raise the number of red blood cells.
As a result, the likelihood to suffer from anemia, a problem caused by iron lack, is lower (21).
Bottom Line: The amount of iron in mangoes might be beneficial for pregnancy and anemia treatment.
9. Skin
Mangoes affect positively human skin in various ways.
Mangoes are as popular as tomatoes or avocados in the making of face masks. Their excellent number of antioxidants make the skin glowing and healthy for a longer time.
Additionally, its richness of beta-carotene and vitamin A has positive effects on the rejuvenation of your skin.
You can also make use of mangoes if you want to eradicate blemishes, acne’s or dark spots.
Interestingly, what you need in the skin care process is the skin of mangoes.
Simply rub it over the skin for about 15 minutes before taking warm water to rinse your face.
10. Libido
Mangoes possess a huge amount of vitamin E which has great influence on the regulation of sex hormones and libido.
Moreover, potassium and magnesium in mangoes promotes the release of sex hormones (22, 23). Mangoes also encourage men’s body to produce more histamine which helps them reach orgasm easily.
Thus, if anyone has low libido, try consuming mangoes 2-3 times on a daily basis to enjoy these wonderful mango nutrition facts and health benefits.
Side Effects
Despite the fact that mangoes are the favorite fruit of millions of people, some find it hard to consume them.
Mango allergies are, in fact, more common than you might think.
Mangoes are a member of the Anacardiaceae family which involves poison ivy.
Thus, can you imagine unwanted effects from this?
Besides, in mangoes, there is urushinol existing in particularly small amount. It is a possible cause for dermatitis. On the other hand, people are discouraged to over-consume mangoes since they might lead to diarrhea or weight gain.
So, which one are your favorite mango nutrition facts and health benefits?
Are there any other new health benefits of mangoes that you would like to share?
You can comment on the box below your opinion, idea and suggestion about the mango nutrition facts and health benefits and why it is called “king of the fruits”!
