Plum juice is delicious and loaded with benefits for your health, yet many people don’t take advantage of it. However, ask anyone about prune juice and you will hear wonderful things. But here’s a mind twist for you- prunes are just dried plums!
If you’re looking for a fruit juice with a unique taste and nutritional profile, you’ve found your match.
What Are Plums?
Plums are the tasty fruits borne by the Prunus trees of the rosaceae family. There are many different varieties of plums, but the most common colors tend to be yellow to red and even purple. Plums are believed to have originated in the cold mountainous regions of Eastern Europe, but today are found in many parts of the world, growing in temperate climates. Generally, plums taste sweet but may also possess a tart taste, especially when the skin is consumed.
To make plum juice, you need to boil the fruit in water for about 3-5 minutes, after which the pits are removed. Subsequently, it is blended, strained and finally enhanced with spices if necessary to make the completed beverage.
Plums Nutrition (Per Cup, Sliced 165g)
Calories-76
Total Carbohydrate 18.8g
Dietary Fiber-2.3g 9% RDI
Sugars-16.4g
Protein-1.2g 2% RDI
Vitamin A-569IU 11% RDI
Vitamin C-15.7mg 26% RDI
Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol)-0.4mg 2% RDI
Vitamin K-10.6mcg 13% RDI
Niacin-0.7mg 3% RDI
Folate-8.3mcg 2% RDI
Vitamin B120.0mcg0%
Pantothenic Acid-0.2mg 2% RDI
Iron-0.3mg 2% RDI
Magnesium-11.6mg 3% RDI
Potassium259mg7%
11 Amazing Benefits of Plum Juice
1. Supports Weight Loss
Depending on how you prepare your plum juice, it may or may not retain a very high fiber content. Plums contain both varieties of fiber, namely the insoluble and soluble types. Both types are effective for supporting weight loss, but in terms of s sheer appetite suppressant potential, insoluble fiber is much more useful.
Plum juice made by blending as opposed to using a centrifugal juice extractor would be superior since its pulp means that more soluble is present in each sip of the drink. The end result? Leptin is stimulated as your body signals that satiety has been achieved.
2. Supports Digestive Health
Once again, fiber to the rescue! Fiber is an important complement for maintaining bowel regularity, since it not only help stimulate peristaltic movement along the digestive tract, but also assist with waste material retaining moisture and not becoming a compacted mass. In addition to this, the soluble fiber nourishes bacteria in the intestine I that play roles in the breakdown of food. Bloating, and other digestive issues such as diarrhea or constipation are in turn minimized.
Plus, it is important to realize that prunes are basically dried plums, ones in which the amount of sorbitol present has been concentrated. This means that plums also contain sorbitol, and can be useful for dealing with occasional constipation.
3. May Help Control Blood Glucose
On the surface plum juice may not seem like an effective solution for managing blood glucose, but plums actually have a very low glycemic index, especially when compared to other fruits. This means that plum juice may actually act as a stabilizing agent for your blood sugar, and along with the fact that the flavonols it contains can counter insulin resistance you have a real contender for an effective anti-diabetic juice option.
A study conducted on rodents, but which is also evident in humans indicated that there is a lower riskof type two diabetes occurring following the consumption of a diet high in plums and plum juice, whereas other juices do not have this property.
4. Helps Prevent Osteoporosis
Plums do not help prevent osteoporosis in the typical way you have come to expect, as it is not a particularly significant source of calcium or any other bone building nutrients, save for vitamin K which it contains a fair bit of.
Rather, plum juice has anabolic (tissue building) properties on bones, which actively encourages building and inhibits deterioration or bone loss. This effect is particularly noteworthy in post-menopausal women who are prone to osteoporosis because of the lack of protection estrogen usually has on bones.
But that’s not all. Potassium also plays a role on bone, but more indirectly- one of protection. Bone is susceptible to deterioration by certain acids, especially Sulphur based ones. Potassium can help neutralize the threat by maintaining a favorable pH. Remember- bone tissue is alive and needs nourishment just like any other cell type.
5. Helps Prevent Age Related Neurological Decline
Neurological decline is an almost inevitable outcome for the vast majority of us, though the extent and speed at which this occurs is within our control to a degree. Oxidative damage and inflammatory processes hasten the neurological decline experienced by the brain, contributing to the development of conditions such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Flavonoids play important roles in buffering oxidative damage, which along with vitamin C, do the lion’s share of the work in preserving cognition. There are also several phytochemical compounds that can support memory and the learning process, making plum juice a useful aide for students or high-performing executives.
6. Enhances Vision
Plum juice contains a fair amount of vitamin A, necessary for maintenance of vision and prevention of oxidative damage to the eyes. The macula are particularly sensitive to the effects of oxidative stress and as a result can lead to reduced sight. Age related macular degeneration is common and is one of the leading causes of somewhat preventable vision loss in seniors.
Fortifying your diet with plum juice can decrease the likelihood of you developing age related macular degeneration.
7. Has Cancer Preventing Potential
Plums assist with cancer prevention by virtue of the presence of multiple anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds, but did you know that plum juice also has great potential in preventing the proliferation of cancer cells? This means that even if cancerous changes have begun to ensue plum juice could stop it in its tracks. Studies are being conducted to investigate if it also has a role on actively killing breast cancer cells while sparing healthy cells, the ideal outcome from using chemotherapeutic agents.
8. Reduces Appearance Of Scars
Plum juice’s ability to help reduce the appearance of superficial scars is not an isolated benefit, but one that comes about thanks to increased collagen production one experiences owing to its vitamin C content. Collagen is important for maintaining the integrity and beauty of your skin, reducing the appearance of scar tissue formed at the site of wounds.
Plum juice may also help a little with stretch marks, though they are more related to the protein elastin in skin being damaged and not so much collagen.
9. Improves Vascular Health
Plum juice is very helpful when it comes to your vascular health, working via several mechanisms. For one, it can help to strengthen blood vessel integrity as collagen also plays an important role in their overall structure. This is one reason why lack of vitamin C results in scurvy- a connective tissue disorders that causes bleeding from areas such as the skin and gums.
Secondly, potassium helps support blood vessel flexibility and helps you maintain healthy blood pressure, and finally thanks to the ability of the juice to reduce the rate of lipid peroxidation, or the process that promotes deposition of fatty atherosclerotic plaques on blood vessel walls.
10. Reduces Cholesterol Levels
Consumption of plum juice can reduce circulating levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides by increasing their utilization and also their excretion. The fiber present in the juice is believed to be responsible for much of this cholesterol optimizing action.
11. Natural Hemorrhoid Treatment
Plum juice can help with treatment of hemorrhoids (piles) thanks to its vascular enhancing properties. Hemorrhoids are essentially rectal blood vessels that have become inflamed and have a defect that causes bleeding. The dual anti-inflammatory and collagen increasing properties can improve the prognosis of hemorrhoids and also reduce pain.
Conclusion
Plum juice is delicious, affordable and a great intermediate when looking for a sugar friendly and exceptionally healthy beverage. Take advantage of what they have on offer and feel the difference in your body.
[james]https://draxe.com/plum-benefits/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-plums-prunes
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/03/27/prunes-or-plums.aspx[/james]
