In April mango season starts in Peacock Ayurveda Garden. We have 3 different kinds of Mango trees in our garden. During April and May our guest can try fresh mango fruits directly from the tree and enjoy their taste and benefits for the health.
“The king of the fruits," mango fruit is one of the most popular, nutritionally rich fruits with unique flavor, fragrance, taste, and health promoting qualities.
The mango is native to South Asia, from where it has been distributed worldwide to become one of the most cultivated fruits in the tropics.
Usually, fruits grow at the end of a long, string like stem, with sometimes more than one fruit to a stem.
Each fruit measures 5 to 15 cm in length and about 4 to 10 cm in width. Its weight ranges from 150 g to around 750 g. Outer skin is smooth and is green in un-ripe mangoes but turns into golden yellow, bright yellow or orange-red when ripen depending upon the cultivar.
The mango fruit is a nature’s boon as it is believed in Ayurveda to decrease the aggravated Vata and Pitta doshas or the air and fire in the human’s body which when aggravate and increase from their normal values create an imbalance in the body systems and thus result in the origin of a number of ailments.
Health Benefits of Mango Fruit according to Ayurveda
Useful in Anemia – the pulp of the ripe fruit taken regularly along with sweetened milk is a natural help in increasing the haemoglobin level.
Boon for the eyes– being rich in vitamin A, mango fruit is a boon for the eyes. Mango Milkshakes help to cure dryness of the eyes, itching and burning of the eyes. A regular intake of mango fruit or juice during the season, not only complements the required amount of the vitamin A, but also stores the extra amount for any further needs.
Good for the heart – a moderate intake of the ripe fruit strengthens the heart and relieves from palpitations.
Useful in Burns – the ashes of mango leaves is a good remedy for burns.
Advantageous for the Teeth – a decoction prepared from the bark of a mango tree when used as gargles relieves from ailments like tooth decay, bleeding from the teeth and bad breath. The seed of mango is dried and made into a paste which when massaged into the teeth and gums, stops the bleeding instantly.
Use in Diabetes – juice extracted from a few fresh leaves of the mango tree when taken along with an equal quantity of the juice of bitter gourd on an empty stomach during the initial stages of the disease, proves quite beneficial in eradicating the disease.
Blood Disorders – raw mangoes increase the elasticity of the blood vessels, and help the formation of new blood cells. It aids absorption of food iron. It increases resistance against TB, anaemia, cholera and dysentery.
Bilious Disorders – the acids contained in the green mangoes increase the secretion of bile and act as an intestinal antiseptic. Have it with honey and black pepper daily. This paste is also good for toning the liver.
Loss of weight – mango with milk, or preferably, Soya milk gives an ideal mixture of sugar and protein for under-weight people.
Source of vitamins and microelements
Mango fruit is rich in pre-biotic dietary fibre, vitamins, minerals. Mango fruit is an excellent source of vitamin-A and flavonoids like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin. 100 g of fresh fruit provides 765 mg or 25% of recommended daily levels of vitamin A.
Fresh mango is a good source of potassium. 100 g fruit provides 156 mg of potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure.
It is also a very good source of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin-C and vitamin-E.
Further, it composes moderate amounts of copper. Copper is a co-factor for many vital enzymes. Copper is also required for the production of red blood cells.