Plums and Prunes are among the healthiest foods on the planet. While you may be aware about their numerous health benefits, do you know what makes them different?
They may both be juicy and delicious, but there’s plenty of nuances between plums and prunes. While plums are fresh and prunes are dried, there’s still some confusion about these two fruits.
It turns out that there’s a simple explanation for that: prunes are plums that are dried.
Sounds pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? However, this doesn’t mean that you can dry any type of plum to get a prune. That’s the primary difference between dried and fresh fruits.
There are just a handful of fruits that come in such a panorama of colours as plum. This juicy and sweet tasting fruit belongs to the Prunus genus of plants. Plums are relatives of peach, nectarine, and almond. Prunes are also known as “dried plums’’. They are sweet with a deep taste and a sticky, chewy texture.
Plums are extremely nutritious with a plethora of health benefits. They are rich in several vitamins and minerals in addition to fiber and antioxidants. This may help reduce your risk of several chronic diseases. You can consume plums fresh or dried. Dried plums or prunes are known for improving several health conditions, including constipation and osteoporosis.
Let’s take a look at how plums and prunes can improve your health:
1) They Are Rich in Antioxidants
Plums and prunes are high in antioxidants, which are helpful for reducing inflammation and protecting your cells from damage by free radicals. They have positive effects on bone health. Moreover, they may help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes. This is because plums and prunes are rich in polyphenol antioxidants.
In fact, some studies have shown that plums contain more than twice the amount of polyphenol antioxidants as other popular fruits, such as nectarines and peaches.
The most active antioxidants found in plums and prunes is a a specific type of polyphenol known as Anthocyanins. They have powerful health effects such as reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer prevention.
2) Plums and Prunes May Help Lower Your Blood Sugar
Plums and prunes don’t cause a substantial rise in blood sugar levels despite being considerably high in carbs. This is because they increase levels of adiponectin, a hormone that plays a role in blood sugar regulation. Another reason is the presence of fibre which makes blood sugar rise gradually instead of spiking. Fibre slows the rate at which your body absorbs carbs after a meal.
Furthermore, consuming fruits like plums and prunes is also associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
3) Prunes May Promote Bone Health
Prunes are beneficial in improving bone health. As per studies, prune consumption is linked with a reduced risk of bone ailments such as osteoporosis and osteopenia. Apart from preventing bone loss, prunes also have the potential to reverse existing bone loss.
Furthermore, research suggests that consuming prunes may increase levels of certain hormones that are involved in bone formation.
Additionally, they also contain vitamin K, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. All these vitamins and minerals have bone-protective effects.
4) Plums and Prunes Have Many Nutrients
Both of them are extremely high in nutrients that are beneficial for your health.
They contain over 15 different vitamins and minerals which contribute well to the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for your body. Moreover, they’re also great sources of fibre and antioxidants.
Let’s delve deeper into the nutrient profiles of plums and prunes:
Plums
Plums are relatively low in calories. However, they contain a plethora of important vitamins and minerals. One plum contains the following nutrients:
- Calories: 30
- Carbs: 8 grams
- Fibre: 1 gram
- Sugars: 7 grams
- Vitamin A: 5% of the RDI
- Vitamin C: 10% of the RDI
- Vitamin K: 5% of the RDI
- Potassium: 3% of the RDI
- Copper: 2% of the RDI
- Manganese: 2% of the RDI
A plum also provides a small amount of B vitamins, phosphorus and magnesium.
Prunes
By weight, prunes are higher in calories than plums. A 1-ounce (28 gram) serving of prunes contains the following:
- Calories: 67
- Carbs: 18 grams
- Fibre: 2 grams
- Sugars: 11 grams
- Vitamin A: 4% of the RDI
- Vitamin K: 21% of the RDI
- Vitamin B2: 3% of the RDI
- Vitamin B3: 3% of the RDI
- Vitamin B6: 3% of the RDI
- Potassium: 6% of the RDI
- Copper: 4% of the RDI
- Manganese: 4% of the RDI
- Magnesium: 3% of the RDI
- Phosphorus: 2% of the RDI
Overall, the vitamin and mineral content of one serving of plums and prunes differs slightly. Prunes contain more vitamin K than plums and are somewhat higher in B vitamins and minerals.
DISCLAIMER
The priority, in this blog, is to supply the reader with clear and unambiguous information. However, neither The New Me nor Gagan Dhawan makes promises, or guarantees regarding the completeness of the information found here. The content is not a replacement for advice of a licensed professional. The opinions expressed in this blog are solely that of the writer’s.
