Uncover our full vary of well being profit guides and take a look at a few of our favorite prune recipes, from our oat & chia porridge with prunes to our braised pork with prunes.
Dietary profile of prunes
A 30g serving of prunes offers:
- 42 kcal/180KJ
- 0.8g protein
- 0.1g fats
- 10.2g carbohydrate
- 2.3g fibre
- 228mg potassium
- 0.78mg iron
A 30g portion, which is about two prunes, counts as one among your five-a-day. Bear in mind that prunes packaged in juice or syrup could also be larger in added ‘‘free sugars’, the kind we’re suggested to chop again on.
Does prune juice have the identical well being advantages?
Whereas prune juice doesn’t include the identical quantity of helpful fibre as the entire fruit, it nonetheless retains a number of the nutritional vitamins and minerals. Nonetheless, bear in mind that once we crush fruit in to juice, we expose a number of the nutritional vitamins to air, which can result in a lack of vitamin content material.
That mentioned, prune juice is equally as efficient for assuaging constipation, due to its excessive sugar content material within the type of sorbitol. Select 100 per cent unsweetened prune juice and in accordance with UK dietary pointers, restrict your consumption to at least one (150ml) glass per day.
Are prunes good for you?
1. Wealthy in protecting plant compounds
Prunes are wealthy in plant compounds referred to as polyphenols, with some research suggesting that plums and prunes include greater than twice that of different fruits, corresponding to nectarines and peaches.
2. Could assist bone well being
Together with prunes in your eating regimen could also be helpful for sustaining wholesome, robust bones. Animal research recommend prunes are efficient at not solely stopping bone loss however serving to to reverse it, too. Prunes are a great supply of bone-building vitamins together with boron and vitamin Okay and make a helpful dietary inclusion for mid-life adults who could also be susceptible to osteoporosis.
3. Could promote a wholesome coronary heart
A plentiful supply of fibre, prunes are particularly wealthy in a soluble sort referred to as pectin, which can assist stability levels of cholesterol. Nonetheless, it’s not simply the fibre which is helpful, the protecting antioxidant properties of prunes seems to assist decrease blood stress as does the vitamin and mineral contribution, significantly the excessive ranges of potassium.
4. Could scale back the danger of sort 2 diabetes
Consuming fruit in its entire kind, corresponding to prunes, is related to a lowered danger of sort 2 diabetes. There are a variety of explanations for this together with their excessive fibre content material, their wealthy phytochemical ranges and micronutrient contribution. Moreover, regardless of their candy style, prunes don’t truly trigger the everyday rise in blood sugar and insulin that we expertise after consuming different sweet-tasting meals.
5. Could gradual the ageing course of
Prunes could assist gradual the ageing course of, they do that due to their exceptionally excessive polyphenol ranges; these plant compounds are considered at ranges twice that of different fruit and greens.
6. Helps digestive transit
In addition to being wealthy in fibre, prunes additionally provide a kind of sugar referred to as sorbitol, this will increase the quantity of fluid your intestine absorbs which helps soften stools making them simpler to move. This implies consuming prunes can improve stool quantity and frequency making them a pure laxative. This was supported by a examine utilizing 80g of prunes with 300ml of water a day for 4 weeks. Nonetheless, it’s value remembering we’re all totally different and prunes could not work for everybody.
In case you are experiencing constipation, it’s value visiting your GP to make sure that there are not any different underlying causes.
7. Could assist intestine well being
Prunes are wealthy in fibre which has prebiotic properties, this implies together with prunes could present a gas supply to assist the expansion of helpful micro organism that reside in our intestine.
8. Could assist cognitive well being
Each human and animal research seem to recommend diets wealthy in protecting compounds, together with polyphenols, could have a helpful impact on assuaging ranges of tension which in flip could assist cognitive perform.
9. Could assist alleviate anaemia
Each prunes and their juice are a supply of iron and, subsequently, could make a helpful contribution to the diets of these with iron deficiency anaemia.
10. Could present a gradual provide of power
Prunes are a good supply of power nevertheless, they don’t set off a fast rise in blood sugar ranges, due to their excessive fibre content material and low glycaemic sugars that are within the type of fructose and sorbitol.
Are prunes secure for everybody?
Some persons are allergic to prunes. They fall into the ‘birch pollen’ class of allergens, together with apples and plums, they usually could trigger itching and swelling of the mouth or throat in these affected.
Allergy signs usually develop inside minutes, and it’s best to see your GP in case you expertise an opposed response. Nonetheless, if this develops right into a extreme response, often called anaphylaxis, it’s a medical emergency and it’s best to name for an ambulance instantly.
Learn extra about allergic reactions on the NHS web site.
Though prunes and different dried fruits could include the carcinogen acrylamide (a compound fashioned when sure sugars and an amino acid referred to as asparagine are heated) the quantities are small compared to grilled and fried meals.
General, are prunes good for you?
Prunes are a nutritious fruit with helpful properties which will assist scale back the danger of quite a lot of power well being situations together with osteoporosis, coronary heart illness and diabetes.
In case you are not used to excessive ranges of fibre in your eating regimen however you want to attempt prunes, it will be advisable to begin with 1-2 prunes every day, together with enough quantities of water, and construct up slowly to seek out your tolerance.
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This text was reviewed on 30 October 2023 by Kerry Torrens, Registered Nutritionist
Nicola Shubrook is a dietary therapist and works with each non-public shoppers and the company sector. She is an accredited member of the British Affiliation for Utilized Diet and Dietary Remedy (BANT) and the Complementary & Pure Healthcare Council (CNHC). Discover out extra at urbanwellness.co.uk.
All well being content material on bbcgoodfood.com is supplied for basic data solely, and shouldn’t be handled as an alternative to the medical recommendation of your personal physician or every other healthcare skilled. You probably have any issues about your basic well being, it’s best to contact your native healthcare supplier. See our web site phrases and situations for extra data.
