A recent Nutrients study analyzed the beneficial effects of mango consumption in two adult subgroups: women of childbearing age (WCA) and older adults.
Study: Mango Consumption Was Associated with Higher Nutrient Intake and Diet Quality in Women of Childbearing Age and Older Adults. Image Credit: Parkin Srihawong/Shutterstock.com
Background
Recently, nutritional research has primarily focussed on nutritional equity, which entails that all individuals, irrespective of their ethnicity, gender, life stage, and economic status, should have access to healthy food containing appropriate nutrition.
Considering unique nutritional needs at varied life stages, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) has designed tailored food guidance for children, pregnant females, and older adults.
The DGA has particularly focussed on pregnant women as they are at a higher risk of developing gestational diabetes, excessive gestational weight gain (GWG), preeclampsia, and hypertension.
However, these risks can be significantly lowered by following a high-quality diet. Pregnant women are encouraged to enhance folate, protein, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, iron, potassium, and fiber consumption.
An increase in fruit consumption could significantly improve diet quality, enhancing the intake of essential nutrients.
Besides pregnant women, the DGA has also focussed on individuals who are above 60 years of age because this group is at a higher risk of developing chronic health conditions, such as bone/muscle diseases, cardiovascular events, and cancers.
Previous studies have shown that older adults have lower energy but the same or higher nutritional requirements when compared to younger people.
A recent survey has documented that the levels of numerous nutrients, such as zinc, iron, magnesium, calcium, folate, and vitamins A, C, D, and E, were below the estimated average requirement (EAR) in many older adults and pregnant women.
To bridge the nutritional deficiency, the DGA encourages both pregnant and lactating females and older women to consume between 1.5 and 2 cups of fruit daily. Several studies have shown that mangoes contain various nutritional components.
For instance, a cup of mango contains 277 mg of potassium, 18.2 mg of calcium, 2.6 g of fiber, 71 µg of folate, 16.5 mg of magnesium, and 60.1 mg of vitamin C, with less than 100 calories.
About the study
The current study hypothesized that daily mango consumers, i.e., both WCA and older adults, would intake more beneficial nutrients and have an improved diet quality than non-consumers.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, generated between 1999 and 2018, was used to develop a large study cohort, which helped test the aforementioned hypothesis.
NHANES is a government-run survey designed to measure US citizens' nutritional and health status regularly. The dietary component of NHANES was utilized in this study.
Study findings
The mean intake of mangoes by the WCA and older adult group were estimated to be 90.1g and 91.3g, respectively. Compared to female consumers, males consumed around 3.8g of mangoes more.
Interestingly, mango consumers in both study groups revealed a higher intake of several nutrients than non-consumers. Furthermore, improved diet quality scores were associated with mango consumers belonging to both groups, i.e., WCA and older adults.
Based on the results, incorporating mangoes into the diet would help alleviate nutritional inadequacies of important nutrients recommended by the DGA for WCA and older adults.
Irrespective of mango consuming status, WCA was found to fall more than 25% below the maximum component score for fruit. Therefore, there is an urgent need to increase fruit intake in this group of individuals.
Previous studies have identified several barriers, such as finances, physical pregnancy symptoms, and time constraints, which inhibit the proper intake of fruits in WCA. These factors must be addressed to ensure healthy eating during pregnancy.
This study observed that WCA who consumed mangoes had higher magnesium and fiber levels, which would help reduce adverse pregnancy conditions, such as gestational diabetes and hypertension. Interestingly, a lower added sugar intake was found among mango consumers in WCA.
Unsurprisingly, increasing mango consumption in older adults could help delay or prevent the onset of chronic diseases.
Consistent with the findings of previous studies, the current study indicated that daily intake of fruits would improve the diet quality of older adults, which could, in turn, boost their immune system.
Conclusions
Since WCA and older adults were found to benefit from mangoes, this study highly recommends the inclusion of mangoes in the diet.
The inclusion of mango in the diet enhances nutritional intake and improves diet quality in specific life stages of adult Americans.
More research on individual fruits is required to understand their impact on meeting the nutritional needs of different age groups.
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