From diabetes.co.uk
Each summer the same question resurfaces for people living with diabetes: are mangoes off the menu? The fruit’s sweetness and reputation for spiking blood glucose have led to firm views at both ends of the spectrum.
Some avoid mango altogether while others hope it might even help their diabetes. The truth sits between these positions and new evidence helps to clarify it.
Two recent clinical studies from India examined how mango affects blood glucose when it is used as a replacement for other carbohydrate rather than an addition.
In a pilot study of 95 adults, three common Indian varieties – Safeda, Dasheri and Langra – produced similar or lower glycaemic responses than white bread during standard two-hour tests.
A separate three-day assessment using continuous glucose monitoring found that, in participants with type 2 diabetes, post-meal glucose swings were smaller after eating mango than after eating bread.
These findings suggest that a measured serving of mango can be incorporated into a meal plan without worsening short-term glucose control.
An eight-week randomised trial has added longer-term context. Thirty-five adults with type 2 diabetes replaced breakfast bread with about 250 g of fresh mango, roughly one small fruit. Mango was not added on top of the usual meal.
By the end of the study, the group who made this swap recorded improvements in fasting glucose and HbA1c, as well as measures linked to insulin resistance, body weight, waist circumference and HDL cholesterol.
The consistent message across both pieces of work is substitution. Mango took the place of bread. It did not sit alongside it.
Portion size remains central. A 250 g serving of mango contains in the region of 180 kilocalories and around 30 to 40 g of carbohydrate.
If you add this to a meal that already includes bread or rice you will increase both carbohydrate and energy, which is likely to raise glucose and total intake. If you use mango in place of an equivalent amount of carbohydrate from starch, the overall effect can be easier to manage.
Many people aiming for tighter control prefer to start with a smaller portion that provides nearer 15 to 20 g of carbohydrate and to adjust from there.
How you eat mango matters. Pairing it with protein or fibre, such as plain yoghurt, cottage cheese, nuts or seeds, can slow digestion and smooth the rise in glucose.
It is sensible to choose fresh or frozen mango without added sugar and to avoid juices, milkshakes and tinned fruit in syrup.
Timing helps too. Having mango with or between meals usually works better than a large dessert after a heavy, carbohydrate-rich plate.
These studies relate to type 2 diabetes. They do not tell us how mango fits for people with type 1 diabetes, where carbohydrate counting and insulin dosing are required for every carbohydrate-containing food.
Anyone with persistently high readings, recent medication changes, pregnancy, kidney disease or other complex conditions should seek personalised advice before changing their diet.
For those who enjoy mango, the message is reassuring.
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