Can Diabetics Eat Mangoes

When someone mentions the word summer a lot of juicy delights come to everyone’s mind. There are a lot of sweet delicacies to enjoy and make your summer memorable, with the diabetic; things are different, even with sweet mango juice all over in summer they have to worry about keeping their blood sugar level in control. Mangoes are known to contain excessive calories and sugar and over the years there has been a heated debate as to whether one should include mangoes in their diabetic diet or not. On writing, this article expert advice from leading nutritionist and doctors was consulted so as to educate you on the same.

In the book, Healing Foods mangoes were found to have enzymes that assist the body in the breakdown of fiber and proteins. This allows the smooth flow of food in the digestive system and has also been linked with lowering the risk of getting heart disease and colon cancer.

According to the findings of a research conducted by Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), you can actually lower your blood sugar levels by eating mangoes every day despite the fact that mangoes are known to contain natural sugars. Another study also revealed that eating mangoes helps reduce the body cells insulin resistance and as a result help the body in maintaining controlled blood sugar levels.

And, that’s not all, The American Association advocates for diabetics to substitute their sources of carbohydrates with fruits and it is no surprise that mangoes are included into the list of these fruits.

Glycemic Index

Glycemic index is a tool used to monitor the effect of eating certain food substances on the blood sugar levels in your body. On a scale of 0-100 foods and fruits with a low glycemic index indicates that this particular food substance will not have a fatal effect on the blood sugar levels in your body. On the other hand foods with a high glycemic index indicate that there will be a drastic rise in your blood sugar levels if you consume that particular food substance.

Counting Carbs

As much as it is advocated that you should ensure that you eat food substances with a low glycemic index, according to The American Diabetes Association instead of focusing more on the glycemic index you should try and monitor your intake of carbohydrates. ½ a cup of mango juice contains just 12 grams of carbohydrates which is way much less than that found in a banana or grapes.

Nutrients in Mangoes

Most diabetic people tend to emphasize more on the importance of eating food with low carbohydrates and maintaining controlled blood sugar levels. On the contrary, what we should focus on is the overall nutrients contained in a certain food substance. As much as we are trying to control our blood sugar levels our body needs also to be provided with essential nutrients.

Mangoes, in particular, are very rich in nutrients. With high levels of vitamins A & C and the soluble fiber that you can only find in beans and oatmeal, in addition, mangoes also have potassium and all these nutrients explains why this food is recommended by most nutritionists as part of a diabetic diet,

How to make mangos part of your diet

Mangos can be eaten either as dried or in their natural juicy form. If you are diabetic it is important that you ensure that you avoid eating mangoes in the form that they have high sugar concentration.

There are many ways to eat a mango, for instance, you can peel off the skin and eat the soft part of it, you can also eat the mango with its skin on either way you shall surely enjoy your mango. But, why not try out something unique? Cut a piece of the mango with its skin on then slice the soft part into cubes, on turning the skin inside out the slide cubes will peel off and you have your mango as a salad. On a wider perspective mangos make a garnish for grilled meats, fish, and poultry.

Reasons why you should take mangoes as a diabetic

When you search online about a particular food substance or fruits, you shall find detailed information on the level of vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates or fats they contain. It is so unfortunate that very few nutritionists indicate the content of other nutrients such as phytonutrients or the antioxidants all of which are essential to the body.

Other than the usual minerals, mangoes also have mangiferin which is a substance with anti-inflammatory activities and most importantly, to a diabetic this substance helps lower the blood sugar levels. Mangiferin has also been found to support and stabilize blood vessels. Other essential substances in a mango are pioglitazone, rosiglitazone, and quercetin.

The peroxisome proliferator and glitazones components in a mango help in the activation of certain receptors in the body. Some of these receptors play a role in the regulation of the blood sugar levels in the body and controlling the level of bad cholesterol. Other studies have indicated that mangiferin has an enzyme that acts as a metabolism and positively influences blood sugar levels in the body.

While testing the health benefits of mangoes, the analysis and research are done in a lab or have animals as test subjects. A recent study found that you can reduce your blood sugar levels by eating frozen-dried mangoes, even better this applies to both men and women. However, there is no evidence indicating that mangoes help the body in reducing fat.

In a research 10 people with T2D were used as test subjects, mangoes among other fruits were administered to the test the glycemic response. It was found that mangos showed the least rise in the blood sugar levels after a post-meal blood sugar. Following up at a far distance were oranges and pawpaws which took the second and third place respectively.