Will Mango Make Me Fat?
Mango, like most fruits, is a super food. It is a rich source of Vitamin A and a very good source of Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), Vitamin C and Vitamin E.
Vitamin A is essential for the health of our eyes, skin and mucous membranes.
Pyridoxine is essential for the production of GABA, a brain hormone and for controlling the blood levels of homocystiene, high levels of which lead to coronary artery disease and strokes.
Vitamin C keeps our gums and teeth healthy, helps our body fight infections and also scavenges harmful oxygen-free radicals.
It is rich in potassium (156 mg per 100 gm) and low in sodium (2 mg per 100 gm), helping regulate our heart rate and blood pressure.
Mango is also rich in flavonoids namely beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and alpha-cryptoxanthene. Together with Vitamin A, the carotenes help protect us against numerous cancers including breast, colon, oral cavity and prostrate cancers and leukaemia.
The fruit is also a moderate source of copper, which is required for the production of some enzymes and red blood cells.
In short, mango is a super food that helps keep our vision, skin and mucous membranes healthy, protects us against infections, eliminates harmful oxygen-free radicals from our body, helps regulate out heart rate and blood pressure, protects us against heart disease and strokes, and numerous cancers including breast and colon cancers and leukaemia.
Other than these health benefits, mango is the most delicious of all fruits. Indian alphonso or ‘Hapus’ from the Kokan area of coastal Maharashtra is the prized mango.
Hundred gram of the edible fruit has 18 to 20 gram sugars and about 70 to 80 calories. A medium size, 200 gm Alphonso mango has about 120 to 130 calories.
So if we take a little bit of care, we can stay slim in spite of eating mangoes.
If you wish to offset the calories of a mango, you can eat three fourth of a chapati or better still, a bowlful of rice less, or you can take a brisk walk for about 25 or 30 minutes to burn off the calories of the mango, and develop better cardiovascular fitness in the process.
Mango needn’t be off the plate of a diabetic either.
The glycemic index of a ripe mango is 51, means it is within the low range; that of boiled potato is between 50 to 70, from low to medium range; that of baked potato is 85, meaning in the high range and that of rice is between 70 to 90, meaning in the high range.
A medium size Alphonso mango, weighing 200 gm, has 150 to 160 gm water and 3 to 4 gm fibre.
The ample water and fibre in the fruit ensures that the simple sugars in the fruit get absorbed in the blood slowly and the blood sugar does not spike quickly, like it does on consuming sugar, jaggery and honey and similar sugary foods and other simple carbohydrates rich foods like rava, maida, refined cornflour.
And the blood sugar is also going to spike much faster and higher after consuming potato and white rice, than a mango.
So if you are a well controlled diabetic who eats healthy, exercises regularly and takes your medication regularly, you can safely eat a mango as one of the three fruits, those you should have in day.
It will help more if the other two fruits you should be eating in a day are low in carbohydrates and calories, e.g. exotic berries like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and mulberries.
And if you wish to play it even safer, eat half a mango in both the major meals of the day.
It will further slow down the sugar absorption into the blood stream.
But of course, you must consult your doctor about eating a mango, more so if you’re a not so well controlled a diabetic.
Also read the Latest Posts ‘Magical Health Benefits Of Fruits‘ and ‘Healthy Fruits For Diabetics And Weight Losers‘ on this website.
