Will Work for Mangoes

Today we given mangoes by the families of 3 of our patients.  In total there were about 60 of the fruit or 5 per team member.  Thus it seemed appropriate to learn a bit more about the fruit.

Part of our mango gift

The following is taken from Wikipedia.



The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world.

Mango is now cultivated in most frost-free tropical and warmer subtropical climates; More than a third of the world's mangoes are cultivated in India alone second being China.

Mango peel and sap contains urushiol, the chemical in poison ivy and poison sumac that can cause urushiol-induced contact dermatitis in susceptible people.^[19] Cross-reactions between mango contact allergens and urushiol have been observed.

In mango fruit pulp, the antioxidant vitamins A and C, Vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine), folate, other B vitamins and essential nutrients, such as potassium, copper and amino acids are present. Mango peel and pulp contain other phytonutrients, such as the pigment antioxidants – carotenoids and polyphenols – and omega-3 and -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

The mango is the national fruit of India,^[46] Pakistan, and the Philippines.^[47] The mango tree is the national tree of Bangladesh.^[48]

In Hinduism, the perfectly ripe mango is often held by Lord Ganesha as a symbol of attainment, regarding the devotees potential perfection. Mango blossoms are also used in the worship of the goddess Saraswati. No Telugu/Kannada new year day called UGADI passes without eating ugadi pacchadi made with mango pieces as one of the ingredients. In Tamil Brahmin homes too mango is an ingredient in making Vadai Paruppu on Sri Rama Navami day (Lord Ram's Birth Day) and also in preparation of pachchadi on Tamil new year day.

The left picture shows a nice way to eat the mango.

Thus we received a gift that was not only healthy, but contans a lot of history.