Can You Eat Mangoes and Still Lose Weight?

Mangoes universally are eaten in many forms; ripen as dessert in different forms and unripe mango is consumed in the form of chutneys, pickles or as a flavoring agent. Though mangoes are enriched with phytochemicals and a high dose of nutrients but actually its sweet and addictive taste tempts us to over eat mangoes that has some side effect too.

One serving,100 gm fresh mango provides:

Calories = 150-200
Total fat = 0.27 grams
Sodium = 2mg
Potassium = 156 mg
Total carbohydrate = 17 grams
Dietary fiber = 1.80 gram
Protein = 0.5 grams
Calcium = 10 mg
Magnesium = 9 mg
Vitamin A = 765 IU
Vitamin C = 27.7 mg
Vitamin E = 1.12 mg

Conventional dietary advice for weight watchers and diabetics puts mangoes in the red list, and this of course has many reasons. The high sugar content of mangoes has a significant impact on body weight, blood sugar and health.

It's true that ripe mangoes are high in carbohydrates, sugars and have a high glycemic index. Being one of the most popular fruits worldwide, it provides approximately 80 -100 calories per 100 g (a medium-sized ripe mango would carry about 150-200 calories.

And I know, most of you are inquisitive to know whether you can have mangoes fearlessly if you want to lose weight…..!!!!

Unfortunately, my answer, being a dietician is ‘No’…Sorry but this is true due to high sugar content, mangoes are high in calories and can cause weight gain.

Please don’t lose heart, you can certainly enjoy this addictive fruit but as a part of the calories you need each day, you will not gain weight. But if you eat all your meals and additionally stuff mangoes, then you will gain weight, as one medium sized mango will give you roughly additional 150-200 calories.

The important thing is that you need to be within your calorie limit.
- If you eat more calories than your daily calorie needs, you will gain weight.
- If you don’t go beyond your daily calorie limit, then you will not gain weight.
- If you are replacing some of the sinful foods during you sugar cravings, you eat with mangoes, it may help you lose weight.

Though mangoes are high in natural sugars, they are laden with calories but they are not bad in nature. We are talking about the excessive eating of mango that often results in weight gain, not if used as a replacement. Being rich source of sugar (fructose), it is considered bad for people on weight loss. So, if you are keen to drop your weight, avoid over eating of mangoes.
You must know this, if you are a diabetic or even a pre-diabetic that ripe mangoes are a rich source of sugar so they usually become the reason of steep rise in blood sugar level. All those suffering from diabetes are advised not to eat ripe mangoes.

Take home message for all the mango lovers and especially for those who are trying to trim down the waistline and diabetics

Mangoes are brilliant source of vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, vitamin B-6 and vitamin K and potassium, copper, calcium and iron. Few healthy ways to eat mangoes include using them in moderation in your milkshakes or smoothies, tossing them into a green salad, grilling them on the barbeque for an amazing dessert or include in the main course such as mango curries.