When looking for those fruits that are both a healthy snack and are supportive of the body’s natural ability to heal itself from attacks that range from bad food to pathogens, not many think of the Mango right away. That may be because Mangos are rich in an antioxidant that is being noticed more by laboratory researchers than nutritionists.
The flavonoid, Quercetin, is quite well studied and mentioned in the nutrition world. However, Mangos have been the topic of research done with the lesser known antioxidant, Mangiferin for it’s role in preventing the symptoms of Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.
This “super-antioxidant” is also being researched for being beneficial in the treatment or prevention of allergies, diabetes, anaphylaxis, neuropathy, cancer, liver toxicity and more. With regard to the Quercetin, Mangos are believed to be beneficial in preventing cancers and heart disease. Certainly, it is clear that while a few slices of Mango as a healthy fruit snack may not quite be a miracle fruit; it has the potential to be just what the doctor ordered, no matter what’s ailing you.
When snacking on Mango, you may want to note that even though the pulp of the fruit is rich in these antioxidants, the bulk of them are contained in the skin. An idea for eating the skin of the mango is to cut the fruit up whole so that the peel is just a small piece on a chunk of juicy flesh.