The benefits of plums for the human body

The benefit of plums is that this product helps to relieve the symptoms of many ailments, saturates the body with vitamins and improves appearance. To appreciate a plum at its true worth, you need to consider all its properties.

Plum is a berry or fruit

The fruits of the plant are quite small, and colloquially they are called berries. However, they are actually fruits. By definition, berries have many pits, but in a plum, there is always only one pit.

Plum is a tree or shrub

The main difference between trees and shrubs is height. Different varieties of plum trees can reach from 2 to 15 m. Therefore, the botanical form of the plant depends on the variety – plum can be both a shrub and a tree.

What is the fruit of a plum

The main culinary and medicinal value lies in plum fruits. What features and characteristics do they have?

Type of plum fruit

The plant is called one-seeded, and the fruits are called one-seed. In shape, the fruits can be either round or slightly elongated, red, dark purple or yellow.

How many grams in one plum

There are quite a few plum varieties that differ in size and weight. On average, the weight of one fruit can be from 15 to 30 g – the exact weight is determined by the variety.

What vitamins are in plums

The value of the product is due to its chemical composition and nutritional value. Small fruits contain a lot of useful substances.

plum composition

Each plum fruit, regardless of variety, contains:

• organic acids – folic, pantothenic, ascorbic;
• retinol;
• tocopherol;
• riboflavin;
• cellulose;
• ash and starch;
• large amounts of water;
• vitamin P, which strengthens blood vessels;
• vitamin C, which boosts immunity;
• vitamin A, good for the eyes;
• vitamin E;
• vitamins B1 and B2, B6 and B9, B5;
• beta-carotene;
• nicotinic acid PP;
• pyridoxine;
• disaccharides;
• thiamine.

Plum fruits also contain a huge amount of minerals. Namely:

• copper, potassium, iron, calcium, phosphorus;
• cobalt, iodine and chromium;
• sodium, molybdenum, sulfur and zinc;
• silicon, fluorine and nickel.

How much sugar is in a plum

There is quite a lot of natural sugar in fruits – up to 3,4 g in one fruit and up to 10 g in 100 g of the product. The glycemic index of fresh plums is 22.

How many carbs are in a plum

For 100 g of plum fruits, there are about 11,5 g of carbohydrates, represented in total by sugars, fiber and starch.

How many calories in a plum

On average, the calorie content of plums is about 40 – 45 calories per 100 g of fruit. However, the exact figure depends on the type of fruit.

How many calories in blue plum

Dark blue plums are the most nutritious. The calorie content of a fresh blue plum is 44 calories per 100 g, or 3 to 4 fruits.

red plum calories

Dark red-skinned fruits are less nutritious – only 41 calories per 100 g.

yellow plum calories

The nutritional content of yellow fruits is slightly higher – 42 calories in several fruits, or 100 g.

How many calories are in frozen plums

A product frozen for long-term storage contains 40 calories per 100 g.

Plum: health benefits and harms

The chemical composition of all varieties of the product is approximately the same, and the body will benefit from the use of any fruit. In particular, plum:

• normalizes the work of the stomach and intestines;
• eliminates swelling and improves kidney function;
• strengthens resistance to viral and infectious diseases;
• beneficial effect on nails, hair and skin.

The benefits of black plum

Black plum is one of the best remedies for bowel problems. The use of dark purple fruits contributes to the normalization of the stomach, eliminates constipation.

The benefits and harms of yellow plum

Fruits with yellow or almost white skin are especially beneficial for weight loss. The product removes excess fluid and harmful substances from the body. The high content of fiber in it helps to establish metabolic processes.

Benefits of red plum

Red plum is the best product for normalizing blood pressure and strengthening blood vessels. It has a particularly good effect on the heart system, normalizes metabolism, and helps the liver.

What is useful plum for the human body

In food and for the preparation of drinks, not only fruits are used, but also other parts of the plant – flowers, fresh and dried leaves, bark. The benefit to the body is that the product:

• protects blood vessels and cleanses the blood of cholesterol;
• regulates the water-salt balance;
• strengthens the immune system and improves memory;
• has anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effect;
• supports joint health, protects eyesight, reduces high blood pressure;
• promotes fast metabolism.

Plum: health benefits and harms for men

Men are much more prone to cardiovascular diseases than women, but the fruit will prevent the development of heart attacks and strokes, and this is its benefit.

Plum benefits for women

For women, the benefits of plums are that the product serves as a preventive measure for cancer, maintains health during menopause, and helps to lose extra pounds.

Is it possible to plum pregnant

During the period of bearing a child, the product saturates the body with vitamins and also helps to solve the problem of constipation. True, plum during pregnancy in the 3rd trimester increases appetite – so you need to eat it with caution so as not to harm your own body and fetus.

Is it possible to plum while breastfeeding

But during lactation, it is better to temporarily refuse the product – draining can cause colic in the baby.

Useful properties of plums for children

For a child’s body, plums will be of great benefit. The fruits will help to establish a healthy functioning of the stomach and intestines, strengthen the child’s immunity, protect vision and the nervous system.

The benefits and harms of plums for babies

For the first time, you can introduce the baby to the product at 3-4 months of age – and at the same time you need to give a prune decoction or infusion. From six months, you can introduce prunes and compote from dried plums into the diet, from 8 months – boiled soft mashed potatoes from yellow or red plums.

Puree from ordinary blue plums is allowed to be offered to an infant only after 1 year, and fresh fruit – not earlier than 2-3 years.

Is it possible for diabetics to plum

Plum for type 2 diabetes is allowed in very small doses – no more than 4 – 5 pieces, and it is advisable to take a dried rather than a fresh product. The same is true for type 1 disease.

Is it possible to drain with pancreatitis

In acute inflammation of the pancreas, draining is strictly prohibited. But with pancreatitis in a chronic, non-acute form, you can eat 3 or 4 ripe fruits a day – the body will benefit.

Is it possible to eat a plum with oncology

Fresh plum fruits prevent the spread of free radicals in the body and serve as a prevention of oncology. It is necessary to use the plum and with an existing disease – in combination with chemotherapy and drug treatment, it will contribute to recovery.

Healing properties of plums

The benefits of plums for the human body are expressed in its healing properties. When can it help, and how to use it?

Plum in folk medicine

In the home treatment of plums, there will be benefits for the following ailments:

• hypertension;
• atherosclerosis;
• diseases of the kidneys and liver;
• thrombosis;
• colds with high fever;
• tendency to edema;
• elevated cholesterol.

The following recipes are popular:

• With constipation fresh plum fruits are boiled for 15 – 20 minutes, then filtered and drunk warm or cold drink three times a day in the amount of a glass.
• To improve peristalsis and appetite it is recommended to use plum juice – to obtain it, you need to squeeze the right amount of fresh berries along with the pulp.

The undoubted benefits of plums for athletes

Plums make up for the lack of vitamins and fluids after training. Of particular benefit is the large amount of potassium, which strengthens the heart and promotes muscle recovery.

Is plums good for weight loss

During a diet, plums will be beneficial as they regulate metabolism. It is best to take low-calorie yellow plums for weight loss. However, the daily amount should not exceed 5 – 6 fruits.

Benefits of dried plum

Prunes, or dried plums, contain almost the same vitamins and elements as fresh fruit. Therefore, from the regular use of prunes, the tone of the body increases, swelling and excess salts go away, immunity is strengthened. Dried fruits are the best natural laxative – they help with constipation as effectively as pharmacological preparations, but they do not harm health.

Prunes are an excellent prophylactic against cancer. And dried plum perfectly satisfies the feeling of hunger, because it contains 230 calories per 100 g of the product.

Benefits of frozen plums

For long-term storage, plums are usually frozen and stored in the freezer. At the same time, their benefits remain exactly the same as those of fresh fruits – all useful substances and vitamins are preserved in frozen form. The product can be used to make compotes and fruit drinks, preserves and jams – they will turn out not only tasty, but also valuable for the body.

Drinks and desserts from frozen plums are an absolute benefit for bowel function. They also strengthen blood vessels and the heart, help protect against colds, increase the overall tone of the body.

The benefits of plum compote

Plum fruits can not only be consumed fresh, but also cooked from them compote, which will help lower blood cholesterol, improve the functioning of the stomach and intestines. The drink will benefit the kidneys, it will help relieve constipation, quickly reduce pressure.

Healing properties of leaves, seeds and plum flowers

For the treatment of ailments, all parts of the plum are used, and not just the fruits. Bones, flowers and leaves of the plant also benefit.

Plum leaves: benefits and harms

Useful properties of plum leaves are expressed in wound healing and regenerating action. Most often they are used to treat inflammation or damage to the skin. True, decoctions from the leaves should not be abused, since they also have a laxative effect.

Plum leaf tea

Tea brewed from fresh or dried plum leaves will bring relief from periodontal disease and stomatitis, sore throat. It will soothe mild stomach irritations and serve as a mild laxative, help with inflammation of the kidneys and urinary tract.

• With inflammatory processes in the kidneys, you need to take a handful of fresh or dried plum leaves, pour boiling water, simmer for another 15 minutes, then strain and drink in a cooled form three times a day in a glass.
• For colds and sore throats in a glass of boiling water you need to add a teaspoon of dry plum leaves, leave for half an hour, and then gargle 3 times a day.

Plum pits: benefits and harms

For medical purposes, not the plum stones themselves are often used, but only the nucleoli. Before use, they must be fried in a pan. The fact is that fresh bones contain a substance that is processed in the body into dangerous hydrocyanic acid. On the basis of the seeds, infusions and decoctions with an antioxidant effect are made, the bones help well against intestinal parasites.

properties of plum blossoms

Dried plum tree flowers are also used in folk medicine. They serve as natural laxatives, help with inflammation and neuralgic pain. Regular consumption of drinks on flowers improves the condition of the skin and hair.

The use of plums in cosmetology

Homemade masks and lotions are used to improve the appearance.

• A mask of fruit pulp and honey rejuvenates and tightens the skin of the face.
• A decoction of the leaves saves from acne and pimples – you can wipe your face with it.
• It is useful to rinse the hair with infusions on the leaves and flowers – the remedy will strengthen the roots and give the strands volume and shine.

Restrictions and contraindications to taking plums

The benefits and harms of plums for the body are inseparable from each other. Under some conditions, the fruits of the plant cannot be eaten. Namely, the product is contraindicated when:

• diabetes and obesity – there is too much sugar in the product;
• allergies;
• gastritis with high acidity – plum will irritate the gastric mucosa;
• acute pancreatitis;
• gout;
• stones in the gallbladder – the fruit can provoke the movement of calculi.

How to choose and store

It is very easy to choose fresh fruits.

• The greatest benefit lies in the May and September plums. At this time, they ripen and hit the shelves as fresh as possible, with a full supply of useful substances.
• Good plums should not be too hard, resilient, with a uniform color.

Plum fruits remain fresh for 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator. Frozen fruits can be stored up to a year, and dried prunes – up to six months in a dry place and up to a year in the refrigerator.

Conclusion

The benefits of plums with reasonable use will be simply huge in the absence of strict contraindications. The fruit will regulate the work of the intestines and other body systems, alleviate many ailments and increase the level of immunity.