Pineapples, mangoes, passion fruit, bananas – in recent years, the ever-accelerating pace of globalisation has made it increasingly easier for us to buy exotic fruits. Mangoes are now available in almost every supermarket, along with many other exotic fruits. With the increased consumption of imported goods such as fruit, the question of how harmful this trade is for the environment is also becoming more and more important. And above all: how healthy are exotic fruits really and how can you best pack them into your breakfast?
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How healthy are exotic fruits really?
It is undisputed that exotic fruits are very healthy. Whether oranges, bananas, mangoes or passion fruit – they all contain lots of vitamins. But not only vitamins, minerals, trace elements and enzymes are also an important part of exotic fruits. Basically, it should be said that regional fruit contains an equal amount of vitamins – but the high enzyme and trace element content is only available with our exotic friends.
Mango is a very healthy fruit. It contains vitamin A, B6, B9, C, E and K. That makes it a superfood, for sure! With all these vitamins, we don't want to withhold the nutritional values of mango from you either!
100 grams of mango contain:
- 0.6g protein,
- 0.4g fat,
- 12.8g carbohydrates and
- 1.7g of fibre.
Diabetics should be a little careful with mangoes – they have a high fructose content. What is really exciting about mangoes is the active ingredient mangiferin! Scientists describe the active ingredient as antioxidant. It has an antiviral, anti-inflammatory and even pain-relieving effect. It also protects the heart, liver and nerve cells. Another impressive fact is that mango has an antidepressant effect.
Passion fruit is also a real vitamin bomb! Like mango, it contains vitamins A, B, E and K. It also contains beta-carotene, which gives it an antioxidant effect and helps prevent heart disease. If you want to boost your vitamin C levels with passion fruit, it's a great addition! However, an orange is a better choice here! The fruit is also rich in phosphorus and calcium. These minerals are extremely important for bones and teeth. Passion fruit is perfect in muesli, yoghurt or porridge.
How the transport of exotic fruits affects your ecological footprint
Globalisation has brought more and more exotic fruits to our supermarkets in recent years. But what are the resulting issues and what are the biggest challenges we face in terms of our consumption of exotic fruits?
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Due to the long transport distances that the fruits have to travel, they often lose some of their vitamins. Often these fruits are also harvested unripe and ripen during transport – but many of them do not become fully ripe and, in addition, the natural process of ripening is interrupted. You should generally avoid fruits that come by plane. The carbon footprint is really bad here. It is also advisable to look out for a generally valid organic label so that you can be sure that the fruit is not contaminated by pesticides.
Now you will probably think twice about whether you should reach for exotic fruits at all – and that's a good thing! Buying mangoes, kiwis, lychees and passion fruit every day can certainly harm the environment. We actually always recommend that it is healthier and better to buy regionally. But if you fancy something exotic now and then, it's not the end of the world. It's the same with everything: the dose makes the poison!
Breakfast with exotic fruits: how does that work?
For those days when you do buy the mango, we have a great tip for you: You can add them to overnight oats. It's easy: just leave a bowl of oats to soak in plant-based milk, milk or water overnight and add the fruit in the morning. Any exotic fruit tastes great in yoghurt anyway. If you fancy some porridge, we recommend simply adding the various fruits as a topping at the end.
