Succulent and sweet, get stuck into the benefits of the mango

The bright yellow flesh screams "summertime" so what better way to celebrate the season than by taking a fresh look at the delicious mango fruit? Our thoughts exactly.

Mangoes have been cultivated for more than 4,000 years, with more than a third grown in India, although you’ll also find them in Pakistan, Burma and Bangladesh and elsewhere in South East Asia. The mango is in fact the national fruit of India, Pakistan and the Philippines and is also the national tree of Bangladesh.

EXOTIC

Mango’s exotic flavour is a great accompaniment to both sweet and savoury dishes, from smoothies, to cocktails, salads, barbecue sauces and chutneys, and it makes the most refreshing sorbets and cheesecakes as well as adding a tropical twist to oatmeal muffins. Whenever possible, choose organic mangoes and try to buy as locally as possible.

GROW YOUR OWN

1. Next time you eat a mango, don’t throw the stone away.
2. Place it in a medium-sized flowerpot filled with potting soil and stand it on a drip tray.
3. Bury the pip on its side, an inch deep, and place it outside on the balcony or in the garden and water each day.
4. In about two weeks, you will see a shoot coming through.
5. They make the prettiest trees and in full flower they’re a sight to behold! But be patient: they will only bear fruit after about eight years.

THE GOOD STUFF

The antioxidants found in fresh mangoes are real tough guys when it comes to fighting disease, helping to protect the body against colon, breast, leukaemia and prostate cancers.

Just one cup of the fresh fruit will give you three quarters of your daily vitamin C intake and a quarter of your vitamin A, helping keep your immune system in tip top condition, while the abundance of iron makes it an ideal fruit for people suffering from anaemia.

Menopausal and pregnant women can indulge in mangoes as this will increase their iron and calcium intake, while also regulating hormone levels. On top of that, mangoes are full of potassium, which helps control blood pressure and your heart rate. Good stuff indeed.

THE OTHER BITS

Seeds: Seeds collected during the mango season can be dried in the shade, powdered and stored. Given in doses of about 1½ to 2 grams with or without honey, it makes an effective treatment for diarrhoea.
Bark: The bark of the mango tree contains 16% to 20% tannin and has been used for the tanning of animal hides, yielding yellow or bright rose-pink colours when mixed with other natural ingredients such a turmeric and lime.

Trunk: Mango juice is pretty sticky stuff (just ask the parents of any clumsy child) and the resinous, red-brown gum obtained from the trunk is in fact used for mending crockery in tropical Africa.

Leaves: For diabetes sufferers, try soaking five or six mango leaves overnight. Strain and drink the liquid the next morning to help regulate insulin levels.

FACE PACK

Slice a mango into thin slices and lay them on your face for 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse off and see the results! The pores on your skin will be unclogged and your skin refreshed.