Summers are here and soon we will start seeing mangoes in the market, hmm fresh and juicy. Mangoes are loved by almost one and all, especially when they are sweet. I am sure your mouth is watering right -now as you read these lines. Apart from being tasty, do you know that Mango also offers a number of health benefits?
But before we look at mango health benefits, one thing you must keep in mind is that, we are definitely not talking about ready made mango drinks here, we are talking about fresh mango fruits.
Mango Benefits for Skin:
Besides being extremely pleasing to your taste buds, mango is amazing for your skin as it is a great source of antioxidants, particularly vitamin C, which keep your skin healthy and glowing. It is often used in various face masks and scrubs. Its various skin benefits are as follows:
1. Mangoes for Glowing Skin:
Mangoes are great for your skin as they have the ability to reduce dark spots, blemishes and acne, thus imparting a natural glow to your skin. Vitamin A and Beta carotene in this fruit restore, rejuvenate and revive your skin with vigor as well as add shine to your skin.
2. Treatment of Blackheads:
This might appear a bit surprising but mangoes can be used to remove blackheads. For this purpose,prepare a scrub by mixing a teaspoon of mango pulp, half a teaspoon of milk or milk powder and honey. Rub it all over your face in circular motion. This will help in removing dead skin and blackheads, thus adding a glow to your face.
3. Anti-ageing Benefits:
The antioxidants present in this fruit delay the onset of skin ageing and pigmentation. They also protect your skin against the harmful free radicals which can cause skin cancer. Vitamin C helps incuring pimples and acne. When applied directly, it smoothens out your skin and acts as a natural moisturizer.
4. Improves Complexion:
Mangoes are packed with vitamin A which is a vital nutrient for maintaining a healthy skin and complexion as well as the integrity of mucous membranes. Mango skin is a great de-tanning agent. You can rub your face and hands with the skin of a ripe or raw mango and apply some milk cream on it. Wash off with cold water after 10 to 15 minutes. Doing this at least twice or thrice a week will reduce tanning drastically. Regular consumption of mangoes provides you with a fair and smooth skin.
5. Treatment of Dark Spots:
Mango skin is also beneficial in reducing dark spots. For this purpose, you can make a powder from the sun dried mango skin and mix it with a teaspoon of yogurt. Using this as face pack will reduce dark spots, blemishes and add a golden glow to your complexion.
6. Treatment of Acne:
Raw mango juice is an excellent astringent that can remove acne. You can boil a slice of a baby mango or raw mango in water and use this water on your face as an acne remover.
7. Great Cleanser:
To cleanse your skin, take a teaspoon of wheat flour and add mango pulp to it. This acts as a perfect cleanser by reaching your pores and cleaning them from deep within.
8. Home-made Face Wash:
You can prepare a home-made face wash by mixing one teaspoon each of mango pulp and powdered almond. Add a tablespoon of milk to this mix and grind it into a paste. This face wash can be applied on all skin types and washed after 20 minutes.
9. Exfoliates your Skin:
You can prepare an exfoliating mask by blending ¼ of a peeled mango, 2 spoons of whole milk, powdered almonds and crushed oats in a blender. Apply this on your face and neck for 20 minutes and rinse in lukewarm water.
10. Good for Sensitive Skin:
If you have sensitive skin, you can make a face pack by mixing mango pulp, oatmeal, milk and honey.Wash your face with cold water. Pat dry and apply this paste on your skin. Wash off with cold water after 15 minutes.
MANGO BENEFITS FOR HAIR:
Mangoes are rich in vitamins and minerals that nourish your hair and promote hair growth. Mango for hair is beneficial in the following ways:
11. Great Conditioner:
Mango can be used in preparing a home-made conditioner. For this purpose, mix mango pulp with a spoonful of yogurt and two egg yellows. Apply this on your hair and leave for 30 minutes. This will condition your hair by making them soft and manageable.
12. Treatment of Dandruff:
Mango contains vitamin A which helps in fighting dandruff and adding shine to your hair. It is often used as an ingredient in hair moisturizers. Mangoes contain vitamin E which improves scalp circulation and encourages hair growth.
13. Treatment of Hair Loss and Grey Hair:
Mango seed oil is an excellent source of fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. The seed kernel itself has great moisturizing properties. You can prepare this oil by removing the outer coat of the mango seed and adding them to a jar of coconut, sesame or mustard oil and place this jar in the sunlight for a few days. Using this concoction regularly will make your hair long, black and thick and prevent hair loss.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF MANGO:
Have a look at these 10 amazing health benefits of mangoes.
14. Fights And Prevents Cancer:
Mangoes are full of anti-oxidants which prevent breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer. It also helps prevent leukemia.
15. Improves Eye Sight:
It contains high dosage of Vitamin A or Retinol which helps protect eye sight.
16. High amount of Fibre and Vit C:
It contains high amount of fibre and Vitamin C which helps to eliminate the Low Dencity Lipoprotein thereby bringing cholesterol levels down.
17. Maintaining the Alkaline Balance of the Body:
This is an amazing fruit which helps to maintain the alkaline balance of the human body because it contains elements like malic acid, tartaric acid and also a very good amount of citric acid.
18. Increases Metabolic Rate:
Like papayas, mangoes also help in improving digestion because it is very rich in fibres. Fibres help in good bowel movement and this inturn helps increase metabolic rate. Increased metabolic rate helps in cutting down excess stomach flab. So this is a good fruit for people on diet.
19. Boosts Immunity:
Mangoes contain 25 varieties of carotenoids and and they are enriched with a high amount of Vit C as well which helps maintain a healthy immune system.
20. Enriched with Anti-oxidants:
Mangoes are enriched with antioxidants and this helps in cell rejuvenation and cell repair.It helps detoxify skin from inside and also prevents occurrence of acne.
21. Increases Fertility:
Mangoes are rich in folate or folic acid which helps in improving fertility. It is a form of Vitamin B and folic acid deficiency that can cause miscarriage in women.
22. Trace Minerals:
Mangoes contain trace elements like copper, selenium, zinc and potassium which are essential for human well being. Absence of these trace minerals can cause a lot of health problems. So start including mangoes in your regular diet.
23. Vitamin E:
Mangoes are rich in Vitamin E, which helps increase and improve the sex drive in humans.
24. Reduces Cholesterol and Prevents Diabetes:
Mango fruit benefits also include reducing cholesterol and preventing diabetes. I know you would be surprised reading this, but it is true. Mangoes contain natural sugar, and each has nearly 31gms of sugar, but at the same time it is low on glycemic load, this means that it the blood sugar is not affected.
25. Prevents Strokes:
Mangoes are also known to prevent strokes as they control homocystiene levels in the blood, which otherwise is harmful to blood vessels that are known to cause CAD and stroke.
HOW TO SELECT AND STORE?
Selection: Mangoes are available in large amounts during the peak season and you might be tempted to buy a boxful when they are available at a reasonable price. Mangoes should be selected by their aroma and not by their color which varies from variety to variety. Their aroma should be distinct and ripe. While buying mangoes, choose the ones without dark spots, blemishes or splits. They should yield to gentle pressure. Fresh mangoes on an average measure about 4 inches in length and weigh about 9 ounces to 4 pounds each. Larger fruits have a higher fruit to seed ratio. Though unripe mangoes are generally green in color and ripe mangoes have colors ranging from yellow to orange to red, color is not always an indication of maturity. There are some varieties where ripe mangoes retain some green coloring. Avoid mangoes that have bruised or dry and shriveled skin as well as those which have no fragrant aroma as they are likely to have no flavor. Under-ripe mangoes should be avoided as they have an unpleasant chemical taste when eaten raw. A ripe mango generally has a full fruity aroma emitting from the stem end, is soft to touch and yields to gentle pressure.
Storage: Proper storage is important to ensure that the fruit stays fresh and to prevent spoilage. The storage requirements vary depending upon the variety. If the mangoes are hard and green, they should be placed in a brown paper bag for a few days to ripen. They should be stored at room temperature and away from the sun until they ripen. Mangoes generally have a shelf life of 1 to 2 weeks. Once ripe, they can be stored in the refrigerator. Mangoes can also be frozen. Freezing them makes their skin black but inner flesh will stay in good condition. They can be frozen either entirely or in the form of chopped up pieces. When freezing peeled mangoes, sprinkle sugar over the chopped fruit and stir gently with wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar in the fruit’s own juices. Seal these pieces in an airtight container leaving ½ inch airspace or plastic freezer bags after squeezing all the air out. Mangoes can be refrigerated for about 2 to 5 days.
TIPS FOR USAGE (EATING/COOKING):
Eating: Being one of the most delicious fruits, mangoes are usually eaten raw. They have a delicate blend of peach, pineapple and apricot flavors, a perfect mixture of sweet and sour. Before proceeding to eat mangoes, you should check their ripeness. A mango is said to be ready to eat when you gently push your fingers onto it and they leave a slight dent on its skin. Mangoes can be eaten in various ways.
1. Cutting the Mango: You can cut the mango into halves and thirds while leaving out the large pit. For this purpose, hold the peeled fruit and make vertical and horizontal cuts to create a chequered pattern. Using a knife, pull out the mango chunks from one half while grasping the other half of the mango. Place these chunks in a bowl.
2. Cubed Mangoes: You can place the cubed mango in a bowl and eat them with a spoon. Mango cubes also make a fantastic addition to fruit salads. To prevent the mango juice from overpowering the flavour of the salad, drain the mango chunks before adding them. You can make delicious mango salads along with other fruits like papaya, apples, cantaloupe, pineapples, pears, sliced cherries and oranges. Add a pinch of cinnamon or lime juice for extra flavour.
3. Desserts: Being naturally sweet, mangoes make a great addition to desserts. They can be blended with yogurt to make a smoothie or mango cubes can be added to yogurt. This luscious fresh fruit can be blended with non-fat sour cream and lemon curd and spooned into sweet brandy-snap baskets.
Cooking: Though mangoes are mostly eaten directly, they can also form part of several dishes. Raw mangoes are widely used to make pickles and chutneys. Mango juice is often added to impart flavor to dishes. In fact, there are several cuisines all over the world that use mangoes to add spice to a main course. Given below are some of the ways in which you can make your recipes interesting by adding mangoes to them.
1. You can prepare a mango salsa using mango chunks, papaya, avocado, and adding a bit of lemon juice and some cilantro. This salsa can be added to chicken, beef or shrimps or eaten as a snack with potato or plantain chips.
2. Raw mangoes can also be grilled. For this purpose choose ripe but firm mangoes and cut them in half. Moisten them with olive oil and set them on a medium-high grill placed two or three inches from the heat source, turning them after every two minutes. Cook them until they turn brown and soft. Garnish them with ½ cup each of toasted coconut and bread crumbs. This can be served alongside any meat dish.
3. Mangoes are used as an ingredient in Caribbean rice and other foods with a Caribbean flavor.
4. Mangoes can be added to chicken salad. This salad is a combination of new potatoes, tender broiled chicken and asparagus tossed in a fresh orange dressing and then mixed with juicy mango slices and baby salad greens. It is a delicious and well balanced meal.
5. Unripe mangoes can be used to prepare mango chutney. For this purpose, grill the mango slices along with their skin for 10 minutes until the skin becomes spotty and the fruit feels soft. Place these slices in a bowl, cover and let them stand for 10 minutes. Now peel the skin of the fruit with your fingers. Make the chutney by combining it with grilled onion, one chopped tomato, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, some chilli flakes, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, a handful of chopped cilantro leaves and 1 teaspoon sweet flavored vinegar.
NUTRITIONAL FACTS OF MANGOES:
We will discuss the nutrition associated with about a sliced 165 gram piece of a mango in this post. Read below to know mango nutrition facts.
Calories: The calorie content in this proportion of mango is 107. Out of this, the calories from fat are about 4. Others include – carbohydrates (101), proteins (2.8). Overall it is a moderate source for calories.
Proteins: Mango contains about 0.8 grams of proteins which is about 2% of the daily value (DV).
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are about 28.1 grams in all which amounts to almost 9% of the DV. These include dietary fibers at about 3 grams which is close to 12% DV. The sugars comprise the rest which is close to 24.4 grams in quantity.
Fats and fatty acids: Mango contains about 0.4 grams of fatty acids which is like 1% of the DV (daily value). The fat content comes from saturated fat (0.1gm), mono saturated fat (0.2gm), poly saturated fat (0.1gm). The other fats like Omega-3 fatty acids and Omega-6 fatty acids are present In 61.1 mg and 23.1 mg amounts.
Minerals: Mango contains minerals such as Calcium (116.5 mg), iron ()0.2 mg, magnesium (14.8 mg), phosphorous(18.2 mg), potassium (257 mg), sodium (3.3 mg), and zinc, copper and selenium in other small amounts.
Vitamins: Vitamin A, C, E, K and B6 with other vitamins like thiamine, niacin Choline, and Folate are also present in this fruit.
This fruit is mildly inflammatory and hence can be eaten in good amounts. The weight loss, weight gain and health parameters related to mango are also moderate. Being low in saturated fat, it does not give a lot of fat content to the body. It is also low in cholesterol and sodium. It is considered as a good source of dietary fiber and Vitamin B6. It is also a good source of Vitamins A and C. The bad thing about the fruit is that a good proportion of the calorie count this fruit provides is received from sugars which may be a harmful thing for diabetic people. They cannot consume the fruit as normally as others.
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