Eat This Fruit Daily and Watch Your Blood Sugar Drop

We all know that adding fruit to your diet is a smart move. But some fruits may offer more than just vitamins and fiber.

Mangoes, for example, are loved for their sweet flavor, but there’s growing interest in what they might do for heart health—especially in women who are past menopause and at higher risk for certain health problems, according to EatingWell.

A study from the University of California, Davis set out to learn if daily mango eating could improve heart-related measures in postmenopausal women who are overweight or have obesity.

The Study

The study involved women aged 50 to 70 who agreed to follow specific instructions for four weeks.

The women fasted before each of the three visits and didn’t eat mangoes for at least a week before the study began.

Researchers took their blood pressure, measured blood markers and tracked their usual food habits. At the second visit, they were given 330 grams of mango to eat—about 2 cups.

Then they were told to eat the same amount every day for two weeks, half in the morning and half at night. The final visit repeated all of the measurements.

In a follow-up test, six women were asked to eat either mango or white bread on separate days.

Researchers then measured how their bodies responded, focusing on blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar and insulin.

The Results

The results were interesting. After two weeks of eating mango daily, the women showed lower systolic blood pressure.

Arterial stiffness—how flexible blood vessels are—also improved. Their cholesterol and blood sugar levels dropped too, especially two hours after eating mango.

The group who ate mango had lower blood sugar and a smaller insulin response compared to when they ate white bread. That may be helpful for people watching their blood sugar.

How Reliable is this Study?

However, the study had only 24 participants, and the mango serving was larger than what most people eat.

And compared to the days of eating white bread, the results are not exactly groundbreaking.

Still, the results suggest that eating mango regularly could be a tasty way to support heart health, more than white bread is able to. But you probably already knew that.

Just remember to keep portions in check and enjoy it as part of a balanced diet.