Are Dried Mangoes Good For You or Are They High In Sugar?

Dried mangoes are a chewy, delicious alternative to their fresh fruit counterparts. Dried mangoes are rich in potassium, fiber, and vitamin C, but they are high in sugar.

Dried mangoes are a chewy, delicious alternative to their fresh fruit counterparts. On the other hand, research clearly shows that fresh mangoes are packed full of healthy ingredients — can the same be said of a dried mango? 

Plenty of dried fruits are high in sugar content, but that doesn’t mean that they’re bad for you. As far as snack foods go, dried fruits are actually one of your healthiest options. Just look for products without added sugar and stick to recommended daily amounts.   

Read on to learn even more about the nutritional components of dried and fresh mangoes.

Mangoes are a tasty stone fruit (drupe) that grows in countries around the globe, including countries in: 

• Asia
• Africa
• Central America

Mangoes are the fruits of a tropical evergreen tree with the scientific name Mangifera indica. They were first incorporated into human agriculture over 4,000 years ago. Over 1,000 varieties of this fruit tree now exist, but only a few are cultivated on a large scale.

The fruits themselves are smooth and have green peels when they’re young. A ripened peel takes on yellow, orange, and red hues. 

There are many different ways to commercially dry mangoes, but all processes are meant to completely dehydrate the fresh fruit samples. Dehydration is the process of removing water. This creates a tougher, more leathery texture. Additionally, since water makes up a large portion of fresh fruit, dried fruit always weighs less. 

The drying process also concentrates the nutrients within the mango into a smaller food item that has different chemical and nutritional properties than the original mango.  

When comparing dried fruit to its fresh counterpart, equivalent amounts will have vastly different nutritional contents. This is because the dried form is, ounce for ounce, a more concentrated version of the original fruit. That being said, some nutrients are better preserved by the dehydration process than others.

For an exact nutrient comparison, here are the nutrients in 100 grams of raw, fresh mango (F) compared to 100 grams of dried mango (D):

• Water — 83.5 grams in F — 16.6 grams in D 
• Protein — 0.82 grams in F — 2.45 grams in D
• Total fat — 0.38 grams in F — 1.18 grams in D
• Carbohydrates — 15 grams in F — 78.6 grams in D
• Fiber — 1.6 grams in F — 2.4 grams in D
• Sugar —13.7 grams in F — 66.3 grams in D
• Calcium — 11 milligrams in F — 0 milligrams in D
• Iron — 0.16 milligrams in F — 0.23 milligrams in D
• Magnesium — 10 milligrams in F — 20 milligrams in D
• Phosphorus — 14 milligrams in F — 50 milligrams in D
• Potassium — 168 milligrams in F — 279 milligrams in D
• Sodium — 1 milligram in F — 162 milligrams in D
• Zinc — 0.09 milligrams in F — 0.3 milligrams in D
• Copper — 0.111 milligrams in F — 0.3 milligrams in D
• Selenium — 0.6 micrograms in F — 2.1 micrograms in D
• Vitamin C — 36.4 milligrams in F — 42.3 milligrams in D
• Thiamin — 0.028 milligrams in F — 0.062 milligrams in D
• Riboflavin — 0.038 milligrams in F — 0.085 milligrams in D
• Niacin — 0.669 milligrams in F — 2 milligrams in D
• Vitamin B-6 — 0.119 milligrams in F — 0.334 milligrams in D
• Folate — 43 micrograms in F — 68 micrograms in D
• Choline — 7.6 milligrams in F — 23.7 micrograms in D
• Vitamin A — 54 micrograms in F — 67 micrograms in D
• Beta carotene — 640 micrograms in F — 786 micrograms in D
• Vitamin E — 0.9 milligrams in F — 4.02 milligrams in D
• Vitamin K — 4.2 micrograms in F — 13.2 micrograms in D

You should also keep in mind, though, that the exact nutrients in your dried product will depend on the variety of mango used. Some varieties may contain more or less of a particular nutrient than others. 

When you compare the nutrients in dried vs fresh mangoes, you can clearly see that dried mangoes have a lot more sugar. The 100-gram samples had 66.3 grams of sugar compared to the 13.7 grams found in 100 grams of fresh mango. 

Still, while too much sugar isn’t good for you, some sugars are healthier than others. Fructose (the main sugar that is naturally contained within fruits like mangoes) is generally much better for you than the highly processed sugar additives found in junk food. Approximately 80% of Americans don’t eat enough fruit. 

Research shows that mangoes are packed full of beneficial nutrients. Some include nutrients that many Americans lack, like: 

• Potassium
• Fiber
• Vitamin C
• Folate

All of these nutrients play crucial roles in your body, so getting enough of them in your diet can greatly lower your risk for a number of chronic diseases. 

Data indicates that people have an easier time getting a diversity of essential nutrients on days when they eat dried fruit, and they’re oftentimes a more convenient on-the-go option than fresh fruit. They also have a longer shelf life, so you don’t have to worry about your fruit supply spoiling. 

They also contain molecules that act as natural: 

• Antioxidants
• Anti-inflammatories
• Anti-cancer agents

A lot of the data on how eating mangoes can specifically affect your health is still in the early stages, but promising animal studies are being conducted, and early human tests indicate that consumption of mangoes has a positive effect on blood glucose levels. 

More research is needed before we understand the true extent of this effect, though, and whether dried mangoes are similarly beneficial. 

According to the USDA, one-half cup serving of most dried fruits is equal to a one-cup serving of fresh fruit. However, mangoes are an exception: One-third of a cup of dried fruit is equal to one cup of fresh fruit. 

The amount of fruit that you should eat every day, meanwhile, depends on a number of factors like your: 

• Age
• Weight
• Height
• Sex
• Amount of daily physical activity

Loose recommendations for daily fruit intake based on age are as follows: 

• 12-to-23-month-olds need one-half to one cup
• Two-to-four-year-olds need one to one-and-a-half cups
• Five-to-eight-year-olds need one to two cups
• Females nine and older need one-and-a-half to two cups
• Males nine to 60 need two to two-and-a-half cups

You should not get all of your fruit servings from mango, though. Mix up your fruit choices to incorporate a wider variety of nutrients into your diet and make sure to mix in lots of vegetables, whole grains, and dairy for a well-balanced diet.