Mango

Mango is the most popular fruit on the planet. Native to southern Asia, especially eastern India, Burma, and the Andaman Islands, the mango has been cultivated, praised and even revered in its homeland since Ancient times. Buddhist monks are believed to have taken the mango on voyages to Malaya and eastern Asia in the 4th and 5th Centuries B.C. The Persians are said to have carried it to East Africa about the 10th Century A.D. It was commonly grown in the East Indies before the earliest visits of the Portuguese who apparently introduced it to West Africa early in the 16th Century and also into Brazil. After becoming established in Brazil, the mango was carried to the West Indies, being first planted in Barbados about 1742 and later in the Dominican Republic. It reached Jamaica about 1782 and, early in the 19th Century, reached Mexico from the Philippines and the West Indies. From western Mexico, mangos were taken to Hawaii and Florida also in the early 1800s. Mangos were introduced to California (Santa Barbara) in 1880.

The mango is known as the "apple of the tropics", and is as important there as are apples in the temperate zone. It is common to see mango trees in kitchen gardens, in pastures, or as street trees in the tropics since they are delicious and a good source of vitamins. From 1899 to 1937, the U.S. Department of Agriculture researched 528 mango varieties from India, the Philippines, the West Indies and other sources. Selection, naming and propagation of new varieties by government agencies and individual growers has been going on ever since. Today, there are thousands of mango hybrids and varieties.

In India, all agree that Mango is the ‘king of fruits’. Lord Indra became a mango tree, and the decorative mango “motif” came to be known as paisley. Some compose songs and poems in its praise, while others use it to decorate their sculptures and paintings; some pray to the fruit for the boon of children, some dedicate their lives to nurturing a mango tree, while others get married to the tree itself; however ...most are just content to eat mangos by the dozens.

It should be no surprise that mango is used in a variety of folk remedies for various ailments. Chew sticks are made from twigs and leaves in India and Panama. Astringents, and remedies for bronchitis, internal hemorrhage, bladder ailments, diarrhea, syphilis, ringworm and warts are made from twigs and leaves. The bark is astringent and has a marked action on mucous membranes

The mango is well-known for its medicinal properties both in unripe and ripe states. The unripe fruit is acidic, astringent and antiscorbutic. The skin of the unripe fruit is astringent and stimulant tonic. Unripe mango is a valuable source of vitamin C. It contains more vitamin C than half-ripe or fully ripe mangoes, It is also a good source of vitamin B1 and B2 and contains sufficient quantity of niacin. These vitamins differ in concentration in various varieties during the stages of maturity and environmental conditions. Unripe mango is good for liver disorders, heat stroke, blood disorders, and scurvy.

The ripe fruit is very wholesome and nourishing. The chief food ingredient of mango is sugar. The acids contained in the fruit are tartaric acid and malic acid, besides a trace of citric acid. These acids are utilized by the body and they help to maintain the alkali reserve of the body. Ripe mango is antiscorbutic, diuretic, laxative, -invigorating, fattening and astringent. It tones up the heart muscle, improves complexion and stimulates appetite. It increases the seven body nutrients, called 'dhatus' in Ayurveda. Ripe mango is beneficial for eye disorders, infections, maintaining proper weight, weight loss, diabetes, female disorders, throat disorders, liver disorders, scorpion bites, and other physical disturbances.

significant nutritional content:

vitamins C, A, B1, B2, Iron, Niacin, Phosphorus, Calcium, --good for eyes, infections, liver disorders, weight management

FRUITS

Apples
Bananas
Coconut
Mango
Oranges
Peaches
Strawberries

VEGETABLES

Beets
Carrots
Celery
Cucumber
Garlic
Ginger
Parsley
Spinach
Spirulina
Wheatgrass