A prune is five times more effective as a laxative than a fresh plum, to what is this quality? And what other properties does it have? Do nutrients vary widely between fresh pieces and raisins? We tell you some secrets of this “sweetened” fruit that improves your dishes while taking care of your gut health.
Like all fruits, plums are a healthy food that should be part of our usual diet, especially when it’s seasonal. When eating them, we eat water (its main component), vitamins A and C, simple and complex carbohydrates, and minerals such as potassium and phosphorus, very important to take care of our bones and teeth. However, the most outstanding feature of prunes is their proven effectiveness as a natural laxative.
This quality is due to two reasons: an outstanding presence of dietary fiber (including pectin) and sorbitol, a carbohydrate widely used as a sweetener in countless light products and that is naturally present in some foods. Sorbitol, as explained by the Spanish Federation of Nutrition (FEN), has a slight laxative action. And this effect is enhanced when we consume fiber, a nutrient that itself promotes intestinal transit.
Is a fresh plum as effective as a prunes? No, because his nutritional profile is very different. The raisins contain much less water than fresh fruit and therefore concentrate the nutrients that make them up. Thus, at the same weight, they give us more amounts of nutrients. In 100 grams of prunes there is five times more fiber and sorbitol than in 100 grams of fresh plums. Hence they are recommended for cases of constipation.
But prunes not only concentrate fiber and sorbitol: they do the same with the rest of the nutrients. Take this fact as an example: they have four times the sugar and the calorie fivefold. Therefore, we should be careful and remember that if we eat plant foods on a daily basis, we will most certainly have no problems going to the bathroom regularly. This will allow us to enjoy plums (whether fresh or raisins) from the gastronomic side, rather than thinking about them functionally.
