Health Benefits of Mangoes

The many health benefits of mangoes have made the fruit a popular choice for millions of people all over the world. Known by some as the king of fruits, mangoes can be eaten while they’re ripe or raw. A lot of people prefer the sweet taste of the yellow, ripe mangoes, but there are also those who cannot resist the taste of raw mangoes, which can sometimes be sour. Some like to slice the fruit into three pieces before eating it while others love creating mango shakes or smoothies. Regardless of the ways they are consumed, the health benefits of mangoes will always remain abundant.

Prevent Iron Deficiency

Iron is one of the most important minerals your body needs to function properly. In fact, your body normally contains iron in each cell. This is because iron is required to create hemoglobin, which is a protein found in red blood cells. The hemoglobin is responsible for carrying oxygen in the blood. Likewise, iron is also needed to make myoglobin, which is a protein located in the muscle tissue. Those who do not have enough of this mineral can develop iron deficiency. Without iron, it would be difficult for oxygen to reach your brain and your muscles. This could then lead to cognitive and physical problems such as decreased stamina and difficulty focusing. Thankfully, mangoes can help your body absorb non-heme iron.

Improve Immune System

One of the best health benefits of mangoes is that they contain a lot of vitamin B6 and vitamin C. Vitamin B6 is essential for cognitive development and the production of hormones such as melatonin, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Without these hormones, your mood and body clock can have problems. Likewise, vitamin C helps prevent cardiovascular disease, eye disease, and cancer. Both vitamin B6 and vitamin C are crucial in boosting the immune system, which in turn protects the body from infection-causing bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Basically, your immune system is responsible for keeping you healthy and strong enough to fend off unwanted, harmful microbes. Thus, it is a great thing that a single cup of mango is enough to fill your daily needs for these two vitamins.

Help Improve Digestion

One of the best health benefits of mangoes is its high fiber content. A single serving of mangoes is enough to provide 2.6 grams of dietary fiber, which is important in digestion. You must remember that other foods such as milk, beef, and fish do not have fiber. Without enough fiber, you can have problems with your bowel movements. Not enough fiber can cause constipation. In addition, fiber helps prevent heart disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. If you want to lose weight, fiber is your best friend. Eating foods with fiber makes you feel full for a longer amount of time. So after you exercise, don’t forget to include a serving of mangoes in your protein-based meal.

Lots of Vitamin A

A single cup of mangoes provides around 25 to 35 percent of your recommended daily intake of vitamin A. This vitamin is mostly known for keeping your vision in top shape. Sadly, those with low vitamin A levels are more prone to blindness than those who get enough as part of their diet. In addition, not getting enough of this vitamin can lead to dry eyes and night blindness, which makes it hard for an individual to see virtually anything in low light conditions. Also, vitamin A works well with calcium since it promotes bone development. Taking in vitamin A naturally also slows the aging process, which is good for your skin. In general, vitamin A is not only beneficial for your eyes, but also for your skin and your bones in the long run.

Folic Acid

The availability of folic acid in mangoes is one of the best health benefits of mangoes for pregnant women. Doctors highly recommend that women take folic acid every single day during their pregnancy. This is because folic acid assists in the development of the baby’s neural tube, which will eventually form the brain and the spinal cord. Of course, folic acid isn’t just healthy for pregnant women. Folic acid is essential to the production of red blood cells, the reduction of high blood pressure, and the prevention of folate-deficiency anemia.

Help Prevent Cancer

Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the world. It is responsible for taking the lives of millions of people every single year. Worse, cancer can take many forms, and treatment is usually expensive and painful. In this case, prevention is definitely the ideal option to take. Mangoes contain several compounds, including gallic acid, astragalin, fisetin, and quercetin. Studies have shown that the antioxidant compounds found in mangoes can help prevent cancer. Specifically, these compounds can protect you from prostate cancer, leukemia, colon cancer, and breast cancer. Hopefully, more research can be conducted to identify if mangoes can also help prevent other forms of cancer.

Lower Cholesterol Levels

One of the health benefits of mangoes is that it can reduce cholesterol levels. If cholesterols levels become too high, arteries get blocked. Once this happens, an individual becomes likelier to suffer a heart attack or a stroke and develop heart disease. A simple solution to this is to have a diet that will decrease cholesterol levels. A single serving of mangoes has sufficient amounts of vitamin C and fiber. Along with pectin, these reduce the level of serum cholesterol in the body. More importantly, mangoes are great at fighting bad cholesterol.

Contain Mangiferin

Mangiferin isn’t a well-known compound, but it is definitely one of the most promising compounds contained in mangoes. Mangoes already have a variety of compounds that can prevent cancer, but mangiferin is said to do more than that. The full potential of mangiferin has not yet been realized, but some research indicates that it has a bright future when it comes to health benefits. In fact, some are even thinking of making a drug out of this compound and mangiferin is already being utilized in medicinal herbs. For one, the existing research has not found any harmful side effects from the consumption of mangiferin. Fascinatingly, mangiferin has seemingly shown that it can be an anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, and anti-cancer compound. Finally, it has been studied for its supposedly memory-improving and UV-protecting properties.