Benefits of Prunes (Dried Plums)

Dried plums are often called prunes. This fruit may be dehydrated in an oven or in the sun, and they resemble large, black raisins. The leathery skin and moist flesh provide nutritional benefits. Consult your physician before eating dried plums to correct medical issues.


Benefits of Prunes

Lower your risk of colon cancer by promoting gut bacteria
Dried plums are rich in potassium, fiber, and phytochemicals, including antioxidants, all of which may help lower your risk of chronic disease. However, it’s dried plums’ influence on the bacteria in your colon that may be most impressive of all.

In an animal study, researchers fed rats either a diet containing dried plums or a control diet (the same as the first diet but without the plums). Those fed the dried plums had significant increases in the number of bacteria in the gut known as Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes.

Rats on the dried-plum diet also had reduced numbers of aberrant crypts, which are signs of precancerous lesions that may be an indicator for future cancer development. Study author Dr. Nancy Turner explained:

“From this study we were able to conclude that dried plums did, in fact, appear to promote retention of beneficial microbiota and microbial metabolism throughout the colon, which was associated with a reduced incidence of precancerous lesions.”

A 2005 study similarly revealed that dried plums “favorably altered… colon cancer risk factors” in rats, possibly due to their high content of dietary fiber and polyphenolics.

Potassium
One serving of dried plums contains 36 percent of the potassium your body requires daily. Potassium helps to ensure proper function of the heart and transmission of nerve impulses throughout your body. It may also positively affect bone health. A study in “The Journal of Nutrition” in 2008 links potassium-rich foods such as dried plums with bone integrity, although more studies are needed to confirm this finding.

Vitamin A
Consume a serving of dried plums, and you take in 27 percent of the daily recommended intake of vitamin A. This makes dried plums a good choice for eye health – vitamin A fosters good nighttime vision and protects the cornea. The vitamin A in this fruit is also helpful for the immune system in general. Research featured in a 2011 issue of “Vitamins and Hormones” reports that vitamin A may help trigger cell death in potentially dangerous cells.

Prunes protect against cardiovascular diseases and other chronic illnesses
Prunes and plums contain high levels of phytonutrients called phenols. They’re particularly high in two unique phytonutrients called neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acid. Numerous studies show that these phytonutrients help to prevent damage to cells particularly when it comes to the oxidation of lipid molecules in the body. Since all of our cell membranes, as well as our brain cells, are largely made up of lipids which contain fat, these are important phytonutrients to have in the diet. These compounds have also been found to inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol in the body making them an important factor in the prevention of chronic diseases.

Help prevent type 2 diabetes and obesity
Prunes and plums are high in soluble fibre that helps to keep blood sugar levels stable. Soluble fibre slows the rate that food leaves the stomach and, as a result, delays the absorption of sugar into the blood stream. Soluble fibre also increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin.


The soluble fibre in prunes helps you feel satisfied after a meal, which can prevent overeating and subsequent weight gain.

Prunes and plums help to lower cholesterol
The soluble fibre we just spoke of also helps to lower cholesterol by soaking up excess bile in the intestine and then excreting it. Bile is made from cholesterol in the liver in order to digest fat. When the body excretes bile along with the fibre from prunes and plums, the liver must use cholesterol in the body to make more bile thereby lowering the amount in circulation in the body. Soluble fibre may also inhibit the amount of cholesterol manufactured by the liver in the first place. A 2011 study found that prunes are more effective than psyllium at relieving constipation.