Health Matters – an A to Z guide to good health – M is for Mango

Mango is one of my favourite fruits, but they have only become popular in the UK in recent years.

Mangos have been cultivated in India for thousands of years and it was during a visit to India that I tasted the very finest of this delicious fruit.  Often it is the whole food experience that provides us with the real joy of eating.  I purchased my Indian mangos from a small shop in Amnabad the shopkeeper was so gracious.  The smell and taste of these fruits will always remain with me and I actually ate three at one sitting – divine!

🥭 Always choose ripe fruit that is soft to the touch but not squashy. Ripe fruit is easier to digest.

🥭 Fresh mango is a good source of Vitamin C and also beta-carotene. The beta-carotene content is easily absorbed by the body where it is converted into Vitamin A.

🥭 Mango contains more beta carotene than carotene-rich apricots and cantaloupe melon.

🥭 Beta carotene and Vitamin C are powerful antioxidants and help protect the body from free radical damage. Free radicals are responsible for many diseases including cancer so we need to protect the body with plentiful supplies of antioxidants.

🥭 Mango also contains some Vitamin E and is fairly rich in many minerals including zinc, magnesium, and potassium.

Eating a mango can be a messy business – the trick is to take two large slices lengthways from each side of the large oval-shaped stone found in the centre of the fruit. You can then score the fruit in a crisscross pattern and turn the skin inside out. Or simply peel the skin and slice.

Live with joy and health. 💚

Elizabeth Beetham