If you’re trying to avoid diabetes or manage your blood sugar, it might seem obvious to pick a snack with less sugar.
For example, between a snack with 7 grams of sugar and one with 30 grams, most people would go for the lower number. But surprisingly, that may not always be the healthier choice.
For nearly 100 million adults in the United States living with prediabetes, a tropical fruit that’s naturally high in sugar might seem like a bad idea. Mangoes, for instance, can have up to 50 grams of natural sugar per fruit. That’s more than many sugary snacks. However, new research suggests that mangoes might actually help lower the risk of diabetes.
In a new study, nutrition expert Raedeh Basiri and her team found that eating a mango every day could help people with prediabetes improve their blood sugar levels and even reduce body fat. The study, titled “Daily Mango Intake Improves Glycemic and Body Composition Outcomes in Adults with Prediabetes,” was published in the journal *Foods*.
Basiri, a professor at George Mason University, explained that we shouldn’t judge food by sugar content alone. What really matters is the whole food and how it’s processed by the body. Mangoes are rich in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants.
These nutrients may help slow down how sugar is absorbed, giving the body more time to respond and preventing sudden spikes in blood sugar.
In contrast, many so-called healthy snacks like low-sugar granola bars may be low in sugar but lack beneficial nutrients. Some of these snacks are highly processed and may not offer any real health benefits. In fact, they might even raise the risk of diabetes in the long run.
In the study, Basiri’s team divided participants into two groups. One group ate a fresh mango every day, which contained about 32 grams of natural sugar. The other group was given a low-sugar granola bar with only 11 grams of sugar. Over six months, the researchers checked the participants’ blood sugar, insulin response, and body fat levels.
At the end of the study, the mango group showed better health results. Their blood sugar control improved, they responded to insulin more efficiently, and they lost body fat. Meanwhile, the group that ate the low-sugar snack did not show the same benefits.
This study is the first long-term clinical trial to show that mangoes may be helpful for people with prediabetes. It challenges the common belief that all high-sugar foods are bad, and it supports the idea that whole fruits are different from processed snacks.
Basiri hopes these results will encourage people to rethink how they look at sugar in their diet. She recommends including whole fruits like mangoes in a balanced diet as a smart way to help prevent diabetes. It’s not just about how much sugar a food has—it’s about how that sugar is packaged with other helpful nutrients.
So next time you’re deciding between a mango and a granola bar, remember: nature’s sweetness may be smarter than you think.
The study is published in Foods.
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