As anyone who reads our blog knows, we’re enthusiastic about eating seasonally! You get the best, freshest, tastiest produce. You also change your diet throughout the year, encouraging you to try more things, get different nutrients and add more variety.
Often, we add things in seasonally and then find they become staples. We live in a world where fruits and veggies are around all year long. It’s best to start eating them when they’re in season to see just how delicious they are at their very best, so you get hooked! Then they’ll become go-to’s that you can add more great things to throughout the year. It’s a great way to build a healthy base for your diet!
That’s why we’re suggesting you eat plums now. They are in season and not only delicious but packed with health benefits! Like all fruit, they do have sugar, and you should be aware of portion sizes. But they are rich in fiber and relatively low in calories! A cup of sliced plums has 76 calories, 18 grams of carbs and two grams of fiber.
Plums are a great source of vitamin C and antioxidants. They also contain calcium, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and vitamins A and K. While prunes — the dried versions of plums — have the same properties, they have a lot more sugar and calories per bite because they are dried out, and you tend to eat more. You wouldn’t eat five plums in a sitting, but eating five prunes wouldn’t seem like a lot.
Most people know that prunes and plums are excellent for helping treat constipation. But, they have many benefits beyond the bathroom. In studies, they have lowered the inflammation that leads to heart disease. The potassium aids blood pressure. The antioxidants can help protect you from many diseases. And, the fiber helps keep blood sugar stable!
If you seek bone health support from the fruit, you may need to eat prunes rather than plums. You get a much more concentrated hit of magnesium, potassium and vitamin K that way. But, studies have only been performed with prunes, not comparing results between people eating prunes versus plums, so you have to consider the pros and cons.
The only danger posed by plums is the pit. Plum stones can damage your throat if you swallow one accidentally. And chewing on them is a bad idea as they contain a chemical that turns into cyanide without your body. Unintentionally consuming a small amount is unlikely to do you any harm, but it’s better to avoid it.
Plums are an excellent fruit because they don’t need to be paired with anything. They work well in a fruit salad — or in a savory salad with a tangy vinaigrette — or in a smoothie. But, they’re also great all by themselves. You can poach, grill, roast them and more, but we love simply biting into a plum! When they are in season, not many things can beat a plum when looking for a sweet, delicious treat!
