Prunes are highly nutritious “dried plums” that are extremely fun to eat, with hemp hearts and chocolate, since they have a sweet, deep taste and a sticky, chewy texture.

Prunes are actually the dried version of European plums but are mostly made from the La Petite d’Agen variety of plum from France. Recently, the prune had it’s name officially changed to dried plum, so as to promote it’s rightful place in the North American diet by removing its negative connotation of being connected with elderly people suffering from constipation. The process of drying plums is thought to have originated thousands of years ago in the area near the Caspian Sea. They spread throughout Europe with the migration of different cultures and civilizations.

Health Benefits of Dried Plums:

• High in carbohydrates, low in fat and calories.
• Help slow the aging process of the brain and body.
• Free of sodium and cholesterol.
• Prunes are excellent for increasing one’s vitality.
• Helps in normal blood circulation.
• A good remedy for sore throat.
• Increases absorption of iron into the body as documented in published research.
• Contains a substantial amount of vitamin C – makes iron more available to the body when digested.
• Contains unique antioxidants:
  • Phytonutrients – a damage-preventing substance effective in neutralizing the superoxide anion radical, helping to prevent oxygen-based damage to fats.
  • Beta-carotene – shuts down free radicals, which is shown in studies to be helpful for the prevention of a variety of diseases, including:
    • Atherosclerosis
    • Diabetic heart disease
    • Colon cancer
    • Inflammatory conditions like:
      • Asthma
      • Osteoarthritis
      • Rheumatoid arthritis

Dried Plums are excellent:

For normalizing blood sugar levels:

• Slows the rate at which food leaves the stomach by delaying the absorption of glucose following a meal.
• Soluble fiber increases insulin sensitivity, helping in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.

In helping with weight loss:

• Prunes’ soluble fiber promotes a sense of satisfied fullness after a meal by slowing the rate at which food leaves the stomach, helping to prevent overeating and weight gain.

Assisting in regularity:

• Eating the prune skin can prevent constipation, stimulating the bowel movement.
• It contains the natural laxative dihydrophenylisatin.

Providing intestinal protection:

• Provides food for the “friendly” bacteria in the large intestine and digestive tract, promoting a healthy colon by crowding out and preventing the survival of disease-causing (pathogenic) in the intestinal tract.
• The helpful bacteria also create fatty acids, propionic and acetic acid, to fuel the cells of the liver and muscles.

At lowering cholesterol:

• The propionic acid produced may be partly responsible for the cholesterol-lowering properties of fiber.
• Helps to lower cholesterol by binding to compounds, used to digest fat that are manufactured by the liver from cholesterol and removing them from the body via the feces.
• May also reduce the amount of cholesterol manufactured by the liver.