Everyone agrees that mangoes taste great and are tremendously good for you. But what about that tough outer mango skin that most people throw away? Can you eat that? Is it nutritious? The answer may surprise you - and help you to lose weight!
Australian scientists have discovered that mango peels contain certain types of nutrients that help the body burn off fat. That's great news for anyone looking to shed a few pounds, but the experts who conducted the experiment used chemicals to extract the nutrients from mango skin. Can you eat the skin itself?
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Researchers all over the world are finding more and more ways that the outer skin of edible plants can help people stay healthy - even those types of peel most people throw away.
For example, academics from Japan discovered that garlic peel contains six different major antioxidants in a class of natural chemicals called phenylpropanoids, which act to protect plants from sunlight and disease. In the experiment, antioxidants in garlic skin were found to be very effective at neutralizing certain types of free radicals. Free radicals are thought to be the cause of some types of disease in humans.
Another study from India worked out that extracts of orange, pomegranate and plantain peels have the ability to help keep glucose levels and insulin resistance under control, and might one day be used to treat diabetes.
Unfortunately, unlike most other fruits and vegetables, mango skin contains a chemical called urushiol. It's the same chemical that makes poison sumac, poison ivy and poison oak so dangerous. In some people it causes a very severe rash and allergic reaction. In extreme cases, contact with urushiol can even cause difficulty breathing. This is sometimes called mango dermatitis.
So how is it that some people are able to eat mango skin?
Firstly, mango skin contains low levels of the skin irritant compared to the more famous poisonous plants. People that get a mild rash from poison ivy, for example, might be able to handle mango peel for a short time without developing any obvious symptoms.
Secondly, not everyone is sensitive to urushiol. Just as some people can brush past poison ivy without a second thought while others break out in severe hives just by touching clothes that have been in contact with the plant, some people can eat mango peel without any ill effects.
So is it safe for you to eat mango skin?
If you have a strong reaction to poison ivy, oak or sumac, you should definitely avoid eating mango skin, or even letting the peel touch your body, especially the sensitive skin around your mouth.
But even if you can touch poison oak without getting a rash, think twice before chowing down on mango peel. You can become sensitive to urushiol at any point in your life, and the more exposure you have to the chemical, the more likely it is you will become vulnerable. Even people who have safely been eating mango peel for years might suddenly develop an allergy without knowing it. Imagine eating mango peel after becoming sensitive: your mouth, throat and stomach would become horribly inflamed, and your reaction could be very dangerous!
At present, there is no completely safe way to eat mango skins, so it can't be recommended. The risks of a severe allergic reaction make eating mango peel a dangerous gamble, especially for anyone with any history of sensitivity to poisonous plants. You're best to stick to the appetizing flesh of the mango - and luckily, it tastes better too!
Can You Eat Mango Skin?
Weight loss is just one of hundreds of ways in which eating mango is healthy; mangoes can also help fight cancer and heart disease. And did you know that African mango may be a great weight loss aid?