The Mango season is here 🙂

“Mango” The “king of fruits” has been around for at least 6,000 years, and is native to India and Burma. Mango is highly appreciated and used in ayurvedic healing and cooking. All parts of the tree- its bark, leaf, flowers, fruit, and seed are used for different purposes and offer a variety of medicinal purposes. Mango is the most delicious and nutrient-dense fruit. Ayurveda considers ripe mango has healing properties and it balances all the three doshas and also acts as an energizer.

Green, unripe mango is also used in Indian cooking. The qualities of green mango are sour, astringent and cooling and should not be eaten alone or in large quantities because they can aggravate the doshas, especially Pitta Dosha.
However, prepared, in combination with spices (for example, in a pickle or chutney), they help digestion and improve the flavour of food.

• Antioxidants which have been shown to play an important role in the prevention of cancer and heart diseases are also present in Mango, such as beta carotene.
• Mangoes are also a rich source of vitamin C, A, B6 etc.
• It strengthens the body; helps gain weight and alkalizes the body.
• Mango also helps in boosting the immune system, improving digestion, clearing the skin tone and improving eye health.
• It also helps in lowering cholesterol, high blood pressure and reduces the risk of kidney stone formation and.
• Mango also helps in reducing sweet cravings in addition to fight heat stroke.

People with diabetes can also eat mango as its rich in fiber which helps in reducing blood glucose levels, however knowing the right quantity is important. People with diabetes can enjoy mango by reducing the portion of other carbohydrates (products made from rice, wheat ragi, and jowar) in the diet and replacing it with mango while monitoring blood glucose level’s daily when you consume it.

A good time to eat a mango is in the morning or between meals but if you are having it with meals then compensate on the amount of your roti or rice so as to maintain the calorie intake and avoiding weight gain.
If you want to eat aamras then make it only with the fruit pulp and no sugar.
Many people add ghee to aamras reason for that is it enhances flavour, reduces the glycaemic index, improvs digestion and reduces the heat, avoid having water after eating aamras as it may cause stomach upset

The season for mango is from January through August, peaking in June. And the best time is to start having it is the last week of April. Three are 12 main varieties of mango found all over India, some of the popular ones are Alphonso/Hapus, Payri, Langda, and Kesari.

The nutritive value of most of the mangoes is similar 1 mango (without refuse) contains 135 calories, 35gn carbohydrate, 1gm protein

A number of recipes can be made out of mango e.g. aamras, fajita, mango milkshake, mango lassi, aam panah, mango salad, mango ice cream, etc…
The most important thing is how much ever you may like the fruit yet eats in moderation as overeating has its own side effects and one lands up blaming the fruit is not good/healthy.