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April 2015 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
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FOOD
BITES
@healthykentucky
TAKE A
TANGO
WITH A
MANGO
By Tanya Tyler,
Editor/Writer
There are more
than 1,000 different varieties of
mangos. This juicy
stone fruit, native to Southeast
Asia, is one of the most cultivated
tropical fruits in the entire world.
Some sources declare more fresh
mangos are eaten than any other
fruit. It is the national fruit of India
(where most of the world’s mangos are grown), Pakistan and the
Philippines. Mangos are distantly
related to pistachios and cashews.
Mango trees can grow to more than
100 feet tall and live for quite a long
time – some 300-year-old specimens are still producing fruit.
Mangos have a familiar round or
oval shape. They come in different
Mangos are rich in
beneficial minerals
such as copper, as
well as polyphenolic
flavonoid
antioxidant
compounds.
Mangos
colors, including yellow, orange
and red. A green mango is unripe.
Mangos are used in chutneys, curries, jellies, jams, nectars, juices
and other drinks. A popular dish
in South Asia is mango lassi: ripe
mangos or mango pulp mixed with
buttermilk and sugar.
Mangos are rich in beneficial
minerals such as copper, as well as
polyphenolic flavonoid antioxidant
compounds. They contain beta
carotene, alpha carotene and beta
cryptoxanthin. These ingredients
are good for eye health. The fruit
can provide 100 percent of your
recommended daily allowance of
vitamin C; 35 percent of your RDA
of vitamin A; and 12 percent of
your daily fiber, which helps digestion and elimination. You will also
get plenty of vitamin B6 and vitamin E from mangos. In addition,
they are a good source of potassium, which is important for controlling heart rate and blood pressure.
New research shows mangos
might protect against c