Daily mango consumption could potentially decrease blood pressure levels and cholesterol.
Want to Keep Your Heart Healthy After Menopause? Mangoes Could Be the Solution
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More than 25 million cisgender women every year experience menopause worldwide. Postmenopause, the period after a woman has not had a menstrual cycle for a year, can bring on several health risks, including heart disease. But new research suggests that eating two servings of mangoes each day could help support postmenopausal heart health.
A study led by Robert M. Hackman, PhD, research nutritionist in the Department of Nutrition at the University of California, Davis, and recently published in the Journal of the American Nutrition Association, found that mangoes could help lower blood pressure and "bad" cholesterol levels in postmenopausal women. The researchers also discovered that mangoes caused less blood sugar increase that lowered quicker a few hours after consumption, compared to eating plain white bread.
So, why mangoes? Researchers recruited 24 cisgender women between the ages of 50 to 70 who were overweight or obese. Over two weeks, they consumed about 1.5 cups of mangoes each day and had measurements for their blood pressure, cholesterol, and other body metrics collected in a lab a few times.
Mango is a nutrient-dense fruit, rich in fiber, antioxidants, and bioactives that support heart health. Prior studies have shown a positive effect on blood pressure and lipid management with mango consumption.
At the end of the study, researchers found that two hours after eating mangoes, study participants experienced a drop of about 6 points in their systolic blood pressure and a 2.3 mmHg reduction in diastolic blood pressure. They also reduced both their total cholesterol and "bad" cholesterol levels by about 13 points.
Mango consumption provided results that are usually hard to achieve with medications in just two weeks.
Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Nutrition-In-Sight, suggests several easy ways for readers to incorporate more mangoes into their diet, such as adding them to salads, smoothies, or even using them to sweeten vegetable juices. Enjoying mangoes regularly may improve your heart health and help you maintain a balanced diet.
Don't wait to make positive changes to your lifestyle! Incorporate mangoes into your daily routine to support your heart health and stay healthy after menopause.
Enrichment Data:
Mangoes are rich in minerals such as potassium and magnesium, which contribute to lowering blood pressure [1][2]. They also have a nutrient profile that supports metabolic health, reducing the risk of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease [2][5]. Consuming mangoes daily has been found to significantly lower fasting total and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in postmenopausal women [2][4]. Adding mangoes to your diet can be a simple, food-based approach to help support better cholesterol management [3].
- Postmenopause can bring on several health risks, including heart disease, but new research suggests that eating two servings of mangoes each day could help support postmenopausal heart health.
- Mango is a nutrient-dense fruit, rich in fiber, antioxidants, and bioactives that support heart health.
- Studies have shown a positive effect on blood pressure and lipid management with mango consumption.
- At the end of the study, researchers found that two hours after eating mangoes, study participants experienced a drop of about 6 points in their systolic blood pressure.
- They also reduced both their total cholesterol and "bad" cholesterol levels by about 13 points.
- Monique Richard, a registered dietitian nutritionist, suggests incorporating mangoes into salads, smoothies, or even using them to sweeten vegetable juices.
- Consuming mangoes daily has been found to significantly lower fasting total and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in postmenopausal women.
- By including mangoes in your daily routine, you might improve your heart health and help manage your cholesterol levels, as well as maintain a balanced diet for overall health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, and women's health during menopause.
