Natural Weight-Loss Foods: Plums
The plum is noted for its versatility. This fruit tastes great alone, cut up in
cereals and yogurt, or cooked to make compote or syrupy sauces for healthy
dessert dishes. The plum will keep your diet from ever being boring.
There are more than 200 varieties of plums in the United States alone, some
quite different than others. It pays to be adventurous and explore unfamiliar
plums; you'll find a few new favorites in no time.
Health Benefits
If you eat a couple of plums at a time, you'll get more than a fair dose of
vitamins A and C, the B vitamin riboflavin, potassium, and fiber. These
nutrients will help protect your cells, keep your heart healthy, and boost
immunity. Plums contain phenols, a type of phytonutrient. Phenols are strong
antioxidants. The type in plums is particularly good at protecting the fats in
our cell membranes and brain, as well the fats circulating in our bloodstream.
Selection and Storage
Nutritional Values
Plum, Fresh
Serving Size: 1 medium (2 1/8") Calories: 30
Protein: <1 g
Carbohydrate: 8 g
Fat: 0 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Dietary Fiber: 1 g
Sodium: 0 mg
Vitamin A: 223 IU
Vitamin C: 7 mg
Riboflavin: <1 mg
Potassium: 104 mg
Carotenoids: 196 mcg
Plums are a summer pitted fruit, called a drupe, with a long season, May
through October. Some plums cling to their pits and some have "free" stones
(pits).
Plums are generally either Japanese or European in origin. The Japanese types
are usually superior for eating. Many European types are used for stewing,
canning, or preserves or for turning into prunes by drying.
Plum skins come in a rainbow of colors: red, purple, black, green, blue, and
even yellow. Plum flesh is surprisingly colorful, too. It can be yellow,
orange, green, or red.
There's no room here to chronicle the characteristics of every type of plum,
but here are a few eating plums you're likely to encounter: Santa Rosa , Friar,
Red Beauty, El Dorado , Greengage, and Kelsey.
When choosing plums, look for plump fruit with a bright or deep color covered
with a powdery "bloom," which is its natural protection. If it yields to gentle
palm pressure, it's ripe. If not, as long as it isn't rock hard, it will ripen
at home. But it won't get sweeter, just softer. To ripen plums, place them in a
loosely closed paper bag at room temperature. Check them frequently so they
won't get shriveled or moldy. When slightly soft, refrigerate or eat them.
