Mangoes are such fun and luxurious fruits that we sometimes forget, or don’t even know, that it has multiple health benefits just like all the bounty in the plant kingdom. In modern culture, we’re conditioned to believe that anything that tastes really good has to be somehow bad for you (think chocolate and fried chicken). But with mangoes, that rule does not apply. They’re heaven in your mouth and do miraculous things for your body too.
Mangoes Boosts Your Immune System
Health Benefits of Mangoes
Mangoes have a host of minerals and vitamins which help to improve your immune system. It’s colour – halfway between red and yellow – is a good indicator of its high vitamin C content (like oranges) as well as its high carotenoid content (like carrots). Mangoes are also very high in vitamin A, offering 25% of the recommended daily intake. This makes it perfect for eye health and also helps those who with dry eye syndrome. Mangoes are also high in antioxidants, those little wonders in superfoods that are thought to prevent cancer.
Mango Improves Metabolism, Also Digestion
Mango Health Benefits
You may not believe that something as rich and fulfilling as mangoes can help with your digestion, but it’s true. Mangoes have fiber, providing that roughage necessary to get things moving along the digestive tract. They also contain that all-important enzyme which helps break down the food you eat and increases your metabolic rate. This means that the prevalent idea that mangoes should be avoided on a diet is completely false.
Diabetic Food
Mangoes are quite high in sugar with about 30 gm in each fruit. But the sugar in mangoes has a very low glycemic index. Without getting too technical, this simply means that mangoes are actually the perfect fruit for diabetics with a sweet tooth as they will not disturb blood sugar levels at all.
Great for Skin, Inside and Out
Whether you eat mangoes or apply the pulp on your skin, you’ll notice a great difference. Mangoes help to reduce pimples, get rid of blackheads and clean up your pores. Again, whether you ingest the fruit or apply it externally, you’ll still gain the benefits. Why not try both for a speedier resolution to your skin problems. For external use, just blend lightly till it becomes pasty and apply on skin. As for eating it, we’re sure we don’t need to tell you how to go about doing that!
Great for Hair Too
Mangoes applied directly on the scalp and hair can help prevent or reduce dandruff, greying hair and hair loss. It’s also an effective conditioner, making hair smooth and shiny. No wonder that it’s an ingredient in some expensive hair care products.
To get optimum health benefits of mangoes, try buying organic. If that’s not possible, at the very least try to find mangoes which have been allowed to ripen naturally rather than artificially with toxic calcium carbide. Nutritionists suggest that if you can’t find organic, then soak mangoes in water overnight so that any pesticide on the surface is loosened and washes away. It’s not a fool-proof system but it’s better than just a cursory wash under tap water.
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