7 Essential Nutrients In Mango That Are Good For Your Health

Mango (Mangifera Indica) is a dicotyledonous fruit and it belongs to the family Anacardiaceae (the family of cashew and pistachio). Also, it is a drupe (an edible stone fruit), containing a single seed surrounded by fleshy mesocarp. The length and width of an average mango is 5-15 cm and 4-10 cm respectively and it weighs about 150-750 g. Mango has a pleasant flavour, strong aroma and an amazing juicy sweet taste. Besides, mango is not only a delicious fruit but it also has a lot of healthy nutrients, having amazing health benefits. Moreover, research shows that the nutrients in the mango can have a positive impact on the body’s health such as increased immunity, improved digestion, healthy skin, hair and eyesight as well as reducing the risk of heart diseases, blood pressure and some types of cancers.

In this blog post, you will find about the calories and nutritional facts of mango.

Let’s get started!

Calories in Mango:

If you don’t know what are calories, don’t worry! I’ll briefly explain it first.

A calorie is an energy measuring unit. Usually, this unit is used to refer to the energy that we get from our food and drink as well as the energy that we utilize in physical activities.

Now let’s check how many calories are there in a mango? Clearly, the nutritional chart of mango shows that one hundred grams of a common mango contain 60 Kcal of energy (i.e 250 KJ).

NUTRIENTS IN MANGO

Mango is a nutritious fruit but the nutritional values that I will mention in this post might not be applicable for all types of mangoes. Because there are several hundred varieties of mangoes worldwide while the nutritional composition of the fruit depends upon its variety, size, taste and some other factors. For example, according to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) report the water content per 100 g of mango pulp in Haden, Kent, Keitt and Tommy Atkins (common varieties of mango in the US) is 83.4g while that is 79.3g in Azucar (a cultivar from Colombia). So there is a slight difference in the two figures.

Now let’s talk about the 7 essential nutrients that are present in every type of mango. Those are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, dietary fibres, organic acids, vitamins and minerals.

According to research on the chemical composition of mango, there are two types of nutrients in a mango i.e Macronutrients & micronutrients.

1.MACRONUTRIENTS:

The macronutrients found in mango are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, organic acids, dietary fibres.

1.1 CARBOHYDRATES:

According to the USDA (2018)  report, the total content of carbohydrates in common varieties of mango (i.e Haden,  Kent, Keitt and Tommy Atkins) is 14.98g  and that of sugar is 13.66g. Also mentioned in the nutritional chart given above.

1.2 PROTEINS:

As compared to carbohydrates, the nutritional value of protein is low in mangos.

Here, I am providing you with a table showing different mango cultivars and their protein content.

1.3 FATS:

In addition, the fat content in Mango is the lowest of all macronutrients. It is almost negligible. 100 grams of mango pulp contains 0.38g of fats. This means that mango is not a fattening fruit, as is wrongly assumed by people due to its sugary sweet taste.

1.4 DIETARY FIBERS:

One cup of sliced mango (i.e 165g) contains approximately 3g of fibres. In other words, out of 100g of fresh mango, dietary fibres contribute 1.6 g, which is a good amount to balance out the high sugar content.

1.5 ORGANIC ACID:

Organic acids are the weak acids present in food. Similarly, research shows that organic acids were found in different varieties of mango. Out of all the other acids, citric acid is the major organic acid found in mango fruit. Its content is 0.13 – 0.71% FW (FW= Fresh Weight).

Micronutrients:

The micronutrients present in mango are vitamins and minerals.

1.1 Vitamins:

According to WHO/FAO (2003), out of all the vitamins found in mango, vitamins C and A are the dominant ones. Certainly, consuming a mango regularly can provide the daily requirement of these two vitamins.

Apart from these two, other types of vitamins are also present in mango.

The total content of vitamins per 100g of mango are as under:

2.2  Minerals:

Different minerals are also present in mango. They include:

The potassium content of mango is high while that of sodium is very low, which can reduce the risk of Blood Pressure and heart diseases.

Furthermore, minerals such as iron, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium are also present in mango but in minimum quantity.

Conclusion:

In brief, mango is a delicious and nutritious fruit. 100g of mango can provide you with 60 Kcal of energy. There are many essential nutrients found in all types of mango fruit but their nutritional value depends upon the cultivar/ variety. Carbohydrates, sugars, proteins, dietary fibres, vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium contributes a high content to the nutritional composition of the fruit. While fats, citric acid, vitamins (E, K, B complex), iron, zinc, copper, selenium, and manganese are present in less amount in mango. Overall, the nutrients present in mango are the essential nutrients for a healthy diet.

Hope you learned something new about mangoes today! Share your thoughts in the comments section.

If you find this information helpful, do share it with others as well.

Related Links:

https://scholar.google.com/

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.01073/full