5 benefits of plums, from relieving constipation to regulating blood sugar
Advertisement
Madeline Kennedy,Samantha Cassetty
Sep 20, 2021, 05:07 IST
Plums contain potassium, magnesium, and vitamin K.
Paige Bennett
Plums are beneficial for digestion, bone health, blood pressure regulation, and more.
They can help lower blood sugar since they contain fiber, prebiotics, and adiponectin.
Plums are also a great source of antioxidants, which help protect your cells from damage.
Advertisement
Plums are a health powerhouse - they have less sugar than many other fruits and are packed with important nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber. You can eat them whole for an easy snack or slice them to eat with cereal or yogurt.
Note: Plums are small, sweet fruits that are about the size of a golf ball. They come in many types and colors, but in the US, you'll most often find red or purple plums with juicy red or yellow flesh. Purple plums tend to be sweeter, while red ones have a sweet-tart flavor.
Plums and their dried counterpart, prunes, offer a long list of health benefits, including boosting heart, brain, and bone health.
Medical term: Antioxidants are compounds that protect your body from free radicals, molecules in the environment that can damage your cells. Over time, damage from free radicals can cause diseases like cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and dementia.
Adiponectin. A small 2018 study found that drinking 200 ml of plum juice each day for four weeks boosted levels of adiponectin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar.
A small 2017 study found that people with high blood pressure who ate three grams of plum extract each day for three months had significantly lower blood pressure, compared with people who were given a placebo.
Potassium can help your body get rid of sodium through your pee. This is important because high sodium levels trigger your body to hold onto more water, which can drive up blood pressure.
4. Good for bone health
Plums contain many vitamins and minerals that contribute to bone health , including potassium, magnesium, and vitamin K, Gellman says. However, dried plums have more concentrated levels of these particular nutrients, compared to fresh plums. So maybe stick to prunes if you're looking to reap this benefit.
"These nutrients help to reduce the loss of bone minerals and actively support bone structure," says Gellman. This is especially important as you grow older, when weakened bones can lead to fractures, even from small injuries.
A small 2016 study found that postmenopausal women, with bone loss, who ate around five dried plums per day had significantly less bone loss after three and six months, compared with women who didn't get treatment.
Advertisement
5. Relieve constipation
Plums and prunes are popular remedies for constipation for two main reasons:
They're high in fiber, which helps to bulk up stool and allow you to pass stool more easily. A cup of prunes, for example, contains 12.4 grams of fiber (roughly 50% RDI).
Plums contain sorbitol, a type of sugar alcohol that acts as a laxative.
A small 2011 study found that people with constipation who ate five dried plums twice per day for three weeks had more frequent bowel movements and normal stool consistency than before the study began.
Plum nutrients
Here is the nutritional information for one cup of sliced plums:
Insider's takeaway
Adding plums and prunes to your diet can offer great health benefits like boosting heart health, balancing blood sugar levels, and relieving constipation.
Replace this with a sentence reminding readers some of the details of what makes plums unique.
NewsletterSIMPLY PUT - where we join the dots to inform and inspire you. Sign up for a weekly brief collating many news items into one untangled thought delivered straight to your mailbox.