This article has been Fact-Checked by Kendall Kennedy MS, RD, RYT
What you eat plays a big role in whether or not you lose weight. Find out whether mango is good for weight loss or fattening.
Mango is relatively low in calories, contains a bit of fiber, and has a few vitamins and minerals in small amounts. In turn, mango will generally be good for weight loss.
Eating more of this fruit will likely make it so consume less of foods that are less helpful for losing weight. In turn, you can see positive results.
You do want to keep in mind that just adding mango to your diet without changing anything else will likely lead to a tiny amount of weight gain instead.
Additionally, there are fruits that are better for weight loss too.
Micronutrients in mango
The macronutrients like fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in mango are definitely important for weight loss. Even so, looking at the amounts of micronutrients in this fruit can be helpful too.
Nutrients like vitamins and minerals play important roles in your health and even in certain weight loss processes.
100 grams of mango contains the following amounts of vitamins and minerals (1):
- Vitamin C: 46% of the DV (Daily Value)
- Vitamin A: 15% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 7% of the DV
- Copper: 6% of the DV
- Vitamin E: 6% of the DV
- Vitamin K: 5% of the DV
And some other vitamins and minerals in less significant amounts.
These amounts of vitamins and minerals in mango are helpful but besides in terms of vitamins C and A, this fruit is not too impressive either.
Besides these, mangos also contain a wide variety of polyphenols which are certain kinds of antioxidants (2). The knowledge about what exactly these do for health and weight loss is not perfect yet.
Fiber in mango for weight loss
When figuring out whether plant-based foods like mango are good for weight loss you definitely want to take a look at their fiber content.
Before going into detail about why this is the case, mango contains around 1.8 grams of fiber per 100 grams (1).
Mango contains a decent amount of fiber per 100 grams but there are definitely many foods that contain more of this nutrient category too.
Fiber is typically beneficial while losing weight for a few reasons.
First of all, it helps you feel fuller without really adding any absorbable calories to your diet.
Many people struggle a lot with hunger and cravings while trying to lose weight. Reducing these things with fiber can help you stay on track.
Secondly, fiber tends to be considered beneficial for your microbiome and gut health. These things seem to be related to general health and body weight.
So mango contains a bit of fiber which can be helpful for weight loss. At the same time, there are foods that contain more fiber too.
Do mangos help you lose weight?
As the fiber section should make clear, the total number of calories in mango is not the only thing that influences how weight-loss-friendly this food is.
On the flip side, this number is still valuable information.
100 grams of raw mango contains around 65 calories (1). One large mango contains around 200 calories.
Many fruits and most vegetables contain fewer calories than this. At the same time, mango is still relatively low in calories compared to many other foods.
61 of the calories above come from carbohydrates (17 g per 100 grams of which 1.8 g fiber). Mango is not that good for keto and other low-carb diets.
That aside, because it is low in calories and contains a bit of fiber, you can say that mango is generally good for weight loss.
By eating more of this fruit, you will likely consume less of other foods that are less helpful for weight loss. You can also decide to swap less healthy foods with mango to lose more weight.
On the flip side, you want to keep in mind that just adding mango to your diet without making any other changes could lead to a tiny amount of weight gain.
Additionally, you want to make sure you eat enough other nutrients like proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals that mango does not contain in large amounts. Both for general health and weight loss.
When should you eat mango to lose weight?
How effective a weight loss diet is does not only depend on the foods in it. When you eat things like mango influences things to a certain extent.
The main thing to keep in mind is that eating too close to bedtime can reduce your sleep quality. Digesting and sleep don’t match well and the water in mango could make you wake up to go to the toilet.
Something smaller to note is that the human body tends to do slightly better with carbohydrate-rich foods earlier in the day.
At this time, your blood sugar tends to spike slightly less which can be just a bit more helpful in terms of avoiding hunger.
Mango vs other popular fruits for weight loss
As mentioned, mangos can be helpful for weight loss but there are other good alternatives too.
Find out how a few popular fruits like pineapple, apples, and bananas compare to mango for this health goal
Mango vs pineapple
Similar to mango, many people lose pineapple for its sweet taste. Pineapple is lower in calories than mango with 50 calories per 100 grams (3).
On the flip side, 100 grams of mango contains just a bit more fiber (1.8 grams) than the same weight of pineapple (1.4 grams).
The amounts of vitamins and minerals are somewhat similar.
Everything considered pineapple should be slightly better for weight loss than mango.
Mango vs apple
Apples are a bit lower in calories than mango. More specifically, they contain 52 calories per 100 grams vs the 65 calories per 100 grams of mango (4).
Next, the amount of fiber in apples (2.4 grams) is a good amount higher than the amount of fiber in mango. Mango do contain bigger amounts of vitamins and minerals.
Generally, apples will be better for weight loss than mangos. That being said, the difference will not be that big either.
Mango vs banana
First of all, bananas contain more calories than mango. About 89 calories per 100 grams of banana (vs 65 calories) (5).
At the same time, bananas contain more fiber too (2.6 grams vs 1.8 grams). When it comes to vitamins and minerals, bananas and mangos are similar in terms of daily value percentages.
It is hard to predict whether mango or banana is the best for weight loss. This likely depends on who is making the decision too.
If you struggle with hunger, the extra fiber in bananas might be worth the extra calories.
Chart of mango vs other popular fruits
As you can expect, the differences between these fruits in terms of weight loss effects will not be that big. If you like all the options equally, you may as well choose the fruit that is slightly better.
In the table below, you can find mango compared to these other fruits in some of the most important nutrients.
Vitamins and minerals still matter for health (and sometimes weight loss) but it is hard to condense these into one number.
You can check out the amounts for mangos (1), pineapples (3), apples (4), and bananas (5) to compare.
| Values Per 100g | Mango | Pineapple | Apple | Banana |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 65 calories | 50 calories | 52 calories | 89 calories |
| Fiber | 1.8 g | 1.4 g | 2.4 g | 2.6 g |
Different ways to consume mango for weight loss
It is possible to eat mango in a variety of different ways. Your choice can influence how good this fruit is for weight loss.
Below, you can find out which mango products you should consume and which ones you should avoid if you’re looking to lose weight.
Mango juice
Individual mango juice brands can vary but fruit juices are typically not a good idea if you are trying to lose weight.
By juicing you remove the fiber from food which is one of the most useful for losing weight. This makes it a lot easier to overconsume calories with drinks like mango juice than with the whole food versions.
On top of that, fruit juice brands often add extra sugar. These types of mango juices are even less good for weight loss.
Dried mango
Drying fruit basically involves removing a lot of its water content and keeping all the other nutrients.
This does increase the amounts of vitamins, minerals, and fiber per 100 grams but also the number of calories. One example of dried mango can contain around 319 calories per 100 grams (6).
Water is typically helpful for losing weight. It helps you feel fuller and increases the number of calories you burn slightly.
You can most likely get away with some dried mango but in general, it’s better to stay away from this type of preparation process if you are trying to lose weight.
Mango smoothies
Smoothies are basically a variety of ingredients mixed together. They can be helpful for weight loss if you use the right ingredients.
Since mangos can be a good addition to your weight loss diet they can also be part of a good weight loss smoothie. Do keep in mind that there are better ingredients too.
Additionally, smoothies can be suboptimal for losing weight too.
Baked goods with mango
There are many types of baked goods with “mango” in the name. Mainly cakes, mousses, and other mango desserts.
Fruit in the name of a recipe does make it sound healthier but in reality, they are often about the same in terms of health as the regular baked good.
So “mango cake” is typically just cake in disguise in terms of weight loss.
Baked goods are usually not helpful when you’re trying to lose weight. They are high in unhealthy calories and other ingredients that negatively impact your weight and health.
That doesn’t mean you can never have these kinds of mango foods. It just means that they are not very helpful for weight loss.
Best way to consume mango for weight loss
There are a few ways of eating mango that will generally be the most effective for losing weight.
These include raw in its whole form, together with some yogurt, in a salad, in a good smoothie, or with some oatmeal.
To make your weight loss journey easier, you typically want to stay away from mango juice, dried mango, and baked goods with mango in the name.
Should you eat more mango to lose weight?
Eating more mango could help you lose weight if it helps you avoid consuming foods that are less helpful for this purpose.
Additionally, you can replace certain suboptimal foods with mango to see results.
At the same time, you want to keep in mind that just eating more mango without changing anything else could lead to a tiny amount of weight gain.
There are also mango alternatives that could be even more useful for this health goal.
FAQ
Can mango make you gain fat?
In theory, mango could make you gain fat. In practice, you most likely feel too full to be able to overeat mangos. If you gain fat while eating mangos, other diets and lifestyle habits will likely be bigger causes.
Is mango good for people with diabetes?
The glycemic index of mango is 51. A glycemic index under 55 is considered low and suited for people with diabetes. That being said, there are many foods with a lower glycemic index too.
