It’s a common myth that if you have diabetes you shouldn’t eat certain foods because they’re “too sweet.” Some fruits do contain more sugar than others, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat them if you have diabetes.
The total amount of carbohydrates in a food affects blood sugar levels more than does the source of carbohydrates or whether the source is a starch or sugar. One serving of fruit should contain 15 grams of carbohydrates. The size of the serving depends on the carbohydrate content of the fruit.
The advantage of eating a low-carbohydrate fruit is that you can consume a larger portion. But whether you eat a low-carb or high-carb fruit, as long as the serving size contains 15 grams of carbohydrates, the effect on your blood sugar is the same.
The 1/2 cup (83 grams) cubed mango servings contain about 15 grams of carbohydrates.
Mangoes are a well loved fruit. Sweet and juicy there are numerous varieties of the fruit that you can pick from. But while most people enjoy the fruit, there are some who shun it for the amount of sugar it contains. This rule is normally enforced on people suffering from diabetes.
Well, According to Neha Chandna, dietician, ‘A diabetic need not avoid mangoes completely. After All the fruit contains various important minerals and vitamins that are important for one’s health. Packed with vitamin A, minerals and fiber, mangoes should be eaten purely for their health benefits. The only thing a diabetic should remember is that moderation is the key. Being a diabetic you can choose to have one small mango in the morning or mid morning without much contemplation.’
If a diabetic cannot avoid eating mangoes, he/she must make sure they do not eat more than 50g of the fruit after their meal. As a precaution, they must remember to exercise regularly, and remain stress free. This will help keep their blood sugar levels in control and keep them healthy.’ Apart from this you must remember that some fruits like mangoes and bananas have a glycaemic index above 50, which makes them quick to release sugars and can cause your sugar levels to rise.
In order to control the blood sugar levels properly, one needs to be careful of the different kinds of sugar ingested – meaning that a number of sweet foods will have to be avoided. When discussing about diet for diabetics, most people wonder if mangos for diabetics are safe.
Despite the fact that mango contains a lot of natural sugar, a number of studies have shown that the fruit is actually very good for the blood sugar management of the body. However, it is also important to keep in mind the amount of the fruit that should be consumed. Experts suggest that you should consume no more than 120 grams. One of the reasons that mangos are considered to be good for the body is because they have rather low glycemic index. The glycemic index is primarily a numerical system representing how much of a rise the blood sugar results in, after consumption of the particular food.
Again, the consumption of mangoes when suffering from diabetes depends on your blood sugar levels before you consume the fruit. It is important to remember to avoid consuming mangos too often as this could result in a prolonged spike of increased blood sugar levels causing the more serious symptoms of the condition to become pronounced. Mango juice for diabetics is also highly recommended because of the positive effect that it has on the arteries – thereby helping to improve the circulation within the body. The primary benefit that the mango juice serves, however, is the fact that it helps lower the blood glucose level of non insulin dependent diabetics. The best method of preparation is to cut about 10 medium sized mangos, remove the seeds and put them in a clean container before blending it and drinking the pulp.
Mango Leaves For Diabetes
One of the best natural treatments is to use mango leaves for diabetes. You just need to boil about three or four mango leaves and drink the water. The benefits of mango leaves for blood sugar have been ascertained after lot of research. The research substantiates that the medicinal properties contribute to the lowering of the blood sugar levels within the body. For better results, you should try soaking the leaves over the course of the night in water and consume the solution early the next morning. Ensure that you consume the solution on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.
Mango And Type 1, 2 Diabetes
The effect that mango has on the body is the same for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Again, the Glycemic index plays a very prominent role in how much of the fruit should be taken, as well as the best form in which the fruit should be consumed. The doctor should however, examine the risk factor involved in consuming mango for type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Besides treatment of the condition with mango and mango leaves, there are a number of other natural remedies that can be used in treatment of the condition. For instance, bitter melon is known to be very effective when it comes to lowering blood sugar levels within the body. Simply consuming about 50 to 60 ml of extracted bitter melon juice is proven to do wonders for diabetics. Introducing larger quantities of onion and garlic to your regular diet is also known to be a very effective way of adapting your diet to help treat the condition. They can also be made into juices for easier consumption.
The fact that soya bean is very rich in calcium, protein and vitamin A means that it is very beneficial when dealing with diabetes and should be included in your daily dietary intake as much as possible. Another very effective home remedy when it comes to dealing with diabetes is to simply eat a few soaked almonds early in the morning. You could also try drinking a glass of juice on a regular basis. The seeds of fenugreek are considered to be another very effective method of dealing with the problem of diabetes.
Mangoes may help regulate blood glucose levels and limit inflammation in people who are obese, according to the results of a small study recently presented at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in Boston. Approximately 80% of people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese.
In previous studies, the research team had found that mango consumption had a positive effect on blood glucose levels in mice. To evaluate the effect in humans, they provided twenty obese adults — 11 men and 9 women — with 10 grams of freeze-dried mango (equivalent to approximately 100 grams, or one half, of a fresh mango) each day for 12 weeks.
At the end of the study period, the researchers found that the participants’ blood glucose levels had been significantly reduced compared to at the start of the study. There wasn’t any substantial change among body composition in either the men or the women, but body-mass index (a measure of a person’s weight in relation to his height) had increased in women, on average.
According to lead author Edralin Lucas, PhD, “The results of this study support what we learned in our recent animal model, which found that mango improved blood glucose in mice fed a high-fat diet. Although the mechanism by which mango exerts its effects warrants further investigation, we do know that mangoes contain a complex mixture of polyphenolic compounds. Research has shown that several other plants and their polyphenolic compounds…have a positive effect on [fat] tissue.”
The scientists note that these results are from a single study and that further research is needed to evaluate the effects of eating mangoes on human health.
In addition to their potential beneficial effect on blood glucose levels, mangoes are also good sources of vitamins A, C, and B6, as well as dietary fiber. Separate research also indicates that polyphenols (a type of antioxidant) found in fresh mangoes may limit inflammation in cancerous and noncancerous breast cells.
As evidenced by copious scientific research, mangoes are also a powerful medicinal food, as they contain nutrients that can help clear up skin, promote eye health, stave off diabetes, and even prevent the formation and spread of cancer.
Research recently presented at a meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), for instance, revealed that eating mangoes every day can help moderate and even lower blood sugar levels, despite their natural sugar content. This is good news for people with type 2 diabetes who may benefit from consuming mangoes regularly as part of a low-sugar diet.
For their study, researchers tested the effects of mangoes on a group of obese animals, some of whom were given 10 grams of freeze-dried mango every day for 12 weeks. At the end of three months, the blood sugar levels of those animals that consumed mango were compared to those that did not consume mango. Based on the data, mango consumption was found to result in a significant decline in blood sugar levels.
“Although the mechanism by which mango exerts its effects warrants further investigation, we do know that mangoes contain a complex mixture of polyphenolic compounds,” says Dr. Edralin Lucas, Ph.D., author of the study.
Similar research out of Australia found back in 2006 that eating mango can also help decrease inflammation and resulting high cholesterol, as well as block the formation of various health conditions included under the banner of metabolic syndrome. In essence, mangoes actually work better than cholesterol drugs at naturally balancing and optimizing cellular function throughout the body.
“We don’t know yet how the whole thing’s going to play out but we know some of the individual components (of mango) activate these receptors and even inhibit them,” said a doctor from University of Queensland about the effects of mango consumption on cellular processes. “That could end up with positive nutritional health benefits for diabetes and high cholesterol.”
And again in 2011, researchers from Oklahoma State University found that mango consumption helps lower insulin resistance and improve glucose tolerance in test mice. The same study also found that mangoes help normalize lipid levels throughout the blood, which in turn can help prevent the development of cardiovascular disease.
Eating mangoes can also help you avoid cancer
But the health benefits of mango do not stop here. Science has identified more than 4,000 different antioxidant polyphenols in the plant kingdom, and many of these polyphenols are present in mangoes. The primary benefit of these polyphenols is that they scavenge damaging free radicals and protect cells against damage, which is believed to facilitate and even promote cancer.
“If you look at mango from the physiological and nutritional standpoint, taking everything together, it would be a high-ranking superfood,” says Dr. Susanne Talcott, who together with her husband discovered back in 2010 that mango compounds target both colon and breast cancer cells.
“What we found is that not all cell lines are sensitive to the same extent to an anticancer agent. But the breast and colon cancer lines underwent apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Additionally, we found that when we tested normal colon cells side by side with the colon cancer cells, that the mango polyphenolics did not harm the normal cells.”
In other words, mango compounds effectively target and eliminate harmful cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone, a phenomenon that is unique to nature and nowhere to be found in pharmaceutical-based medicine. Chemotherapy and radiation, for instance, which are the two most popular conventional treatments for cancer, damage healthy cells along with malignant cells, which is why the treatments are a failure as far as long-term survival is concerned.
Nutrition chart of Mango
- One cup of mangoes (225 gms contain) contains the following percentages that apply to daily value.
- 105 calories
- 76 percent vitamin C (antioxidant and immune booster)
- 25 percent vitamin A (antioxidant and vision)
- 11 percent vitamin B6 plus other B vitamins (hormone production in brain and heart disease prevention)
- 9 percent healthy probiotic fibre
- 9 percent copper (copper is a co-factor for many vital enzymes plus production of red blood cells)
- 7 percent potassium (to balance out our high sodium intake)
- 4 percent magnesium
Health benefits of Mangoes
1. Regulates diabetes
Not only the fruit but the leaves of mangoes are healthy too. For people suffering from diabetes, just boil 5-6 mango leaves in a vessel, soak it through night and drink the filtered decoction in the morning. This is helps in regulating your insulin levels. Mango has a low glycemic index (41-60) so going a little overboard will not increase your sugar levels.
2. Keeps cholesterol in check
Mango has high level of vitamin C, pectin and fibres that help to lower serum cholesterol levels. Fresh mango is a rich source of potassium, which is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps to control heart rate and blood pressure.
3. Skin cleanser
Mangoes help you unclog your pores and add freshness to the face. Mangoes are applicable to any skin type. They help clear clogged pores that cause acne. Just slice a mango into thin pieces and keep them on your face for 10 to 15 minutes and then take bath or wash your face and see the results.
4. Alkalizes the body
According to natural health school.com, mango is rich in tartaric acid, malic acid and traces of citric acid that primarily help in maintaining the alkali reserve of the body.
5. Weight loss
Mango has a lot of vitamins and nutrients that help the body feel fuller. Also, the fibrous fruit boosts the digestive function of the body by burning additional calories, helping in weight loss.
6. Fights cancer
Antioxidants like quercetin, isoquercitrin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid and methylgallat present in mango protect the body against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers.
7. Aphrodisiac
Mango has aphrodisiac qualities and is also called the ‘love fruit’. Mangoes increase the virility in men. Vitamin E, which is abundantly present in mangoes, helps to regulate sex hormones and boosts sex drive.
8. Eye care
Did you know that mango is rich in vitamin A. One cup of sliced mangoes equals 25% intake of your daily need of vitamin A. Mangoes help in promoting good eye sight, fights dry eyes and also prevent night blindness.
9. Helps in digestion
Mango contains enzymes that help in breaking down protein. The fibrous nature of mango helps in digestion and elimination. It is is rich in pre-biotic dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals.
10. Heat stroke
When the sun is bogging you down this summer, just chop of a mango in a juicer; add a little water and a tbsp of sugar free or honey. This juice will instantly cool you down and prevent heat stroke.
11. Strengthens your immune
The deadly combination of vitamin C, vitamin A and 25 different kinds of carotenoids keep your immune system healthy.
12. Body scrub
Make a paste of mashed mango, honey and milk and use as a body scrub, you will feel that your skin is tender and smooth.
13. Aids concentration and memory
Studying for exams? This fruit is rich in glutamine acid– an important protein for concentration and memory. Feed mangoes to children who find it difficult to concentrate on studies.
14. High iron for women
Mango is rich in iron, hence it is a great natural solution for people suffering from anemia. Menopausal and pregnant women can indulge in mangoes as this will increase their iron levels and calcium at the same time.
15. Reduces Kidney Stones
In Chinese medicine, mangoes are considered sweet and sour with a cooling energy also capable of reducing the risk of kidney stone formation.
16. Perfect Snack
Instead of snacking on unhealthy chips and cookies, why not feast on slices of mangoes instead. They are perhaps one of the tastiest dehydrated fruits of all.
17. Stomach Tonic
Before going to bed put some 10 or 15 mango leaves in warm water and close it with lid. The next day morning filter the water and drink it in empty stomach. Do this regularly.
Women Fitness is of opinion that a diabetic person should eat moderate amount of mango i.e about 50 grams and reap its health benefits.