Plums, The Health Enhancer You Keep Overlooking

Lately, I’ve been quite head over heels for plums. I’ve regularly devoured, posted on social media, and experienced fruit bursting fantasies about plums.

Totally weird, but it was only a matter of time before I wrote an article about this wonderful fruit and after much research, I’ve discovered plums are epically beneficial beyond tasting wonderful.

Before we cover all the juicy details, keep in mind studies generally use prunes (dried plums) in their design, but besides minor differences, you can get the same benefits from fresh plums or plum extract as shown in many of the studies (1,2,3,9).

Nonetheless, let’s move forward with this awesome plum article!

Plums Strengthen Your Bones

One of the key benefits of plums is improving and protecting bone health. Plums are shown to enhance bone formation while inhibiting bone breakdown with no adverse effects (4).

Many studies have shown improved bone mineral density through testing postmenopausal women as they are at a greater risk for bone loss than most populations (5,6).

One study compared daily plum intake against daily apple intake in postmenopausal women (7). Despite both groups getting supplemented with calcium and Vitamin D, only the plum group significantly improved bone mineral density by suppressing bone breakdown.

Similar benefits are seen in healthy men as well (8).

So perhaps it’s time to change the old saying of “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” by replacing it with the underappreciated plum.

Plums Are Just Ridiculously Good For You

Plums are also rich in polyphenols which are healthy compounds that act as antioxidants, enhance health, and protect against pretty much all the nasty diseases that would suck to get (9,10).

In fact, the antioxidant capacity of plums are even greater than other vitamin C rich fruits (11).

Beyond that, plums also have the following benefits:

  • Reduces blood pressure even with small doses (12).
  • Inhibits Hepatitis C virus entry (13).
  • Enhances muscle cell formation, increases muscle protein synthesis, decreases muscle protein breakdown while reducing colon cancer cells (14).
  • Increases satiety and reduces subsequent food intake (2). And at only about 30 calories a plum, this makes them great for fat loss goals as well.
  • Improves memory and cognitive function (1).
  • Possess antiallergenic properties (1).
  • Prevents and aids in constipation (2).

What Can’t This Fruit Do?

As you can see, plums are amazing at so many things. They improve tons of health markers, support muscle growth, and aid in satiety. Ultimately, they’ll make you take a hard look at your significant other and wonder why they can’t be as awesome as a plum?

Long live the plum revolution, my friends! (But seriously, if plums start getting trendy like avocados, you know who started this hype first, wink, wink.)

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  1. Igwe, Ezinne O, and Karen E Charlton. “A Systematic Review on the Health Effects of Plums (Prunus Domestica and Prunus Salicina).” Phytotherapy Research : PTR, U.S. National Library of Medicine, May 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26992121.
  2. Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis, M. “Dried Plums and Their Products: Composition and Health Effects–an Updated Review.” Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24090144.
  3. Valero, Yolmar, et al. “Effect of Processing on the Antioxidant Capacity of the Plum (Prunus Domestica).” Archivos Latinoamericanos De Nutricion, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24020256.
  4. Wallace, Taylor C. “Dried Plums, Prunes and Bone Health: A Comprehensive Review.” Nutrients, MDPI, 19 Apr. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5409740/.
  5. Arjmandi, Bahram H, et al. “Bone-Protective Effects of Dried Plum in Postmenopausal Women: Efficacy and Possible Mechanisms.” Nutrients, MDPI, 14 May 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5452226/.
  6. Hooshmand, S, et al. “The Effect of Two Doses of Dried Plum on Bone Density and Bone Biomarkers in Osteopenic Postmenopausal Women: a Randomized, Controlled Trial.” Osteoporosis International : a Journal Established as Result of Cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA, U.S. National Library of Medicine, July 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26902092.
  7. Hooshmand, Shirin, et al. “Comparative Effects of Dried Plum and Dried Apple on Bone in Postmenopausal Women.” The British Journal of Nutrition, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Sept. 2011, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21736808.
  8. Gaffen, Danielle, et al. “Effects of Dried Plum on Bone Biomarkers in Men (P01-028-19).” Current Developments in Nutrition, Oxford University Press, 13 June 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6573941/.
  9. Morabbi Najafabad, Amin, and Rashid Jamei. “Free Radical Scavenging Capacity and Antioxidant Activity of Methanolic and Ethanolic Extracts of Plum (Prunus Domestica L.) in Both Fresh and Dried Samples.” Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Sept. 2014, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4224712/.
  10. Chun, Ock Kyoung, et al. “Contribution of Individual Polyphenolics to Total Antioxidant Capacity of Plums.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 3 Dec. 2003, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14640564.
  11. Gil, María I, et al. “Antioxidant Capacities, Phenolic Compounds, Carotenoids, and Vitamin C Contents of Nectarine, Peach, and Plum Cultivars from California.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 14 Aug. 2002, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12166993.
  12. Ahmed, Talat, et al. “Use of Prunes as a Control of Hypertension.” Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad : JAMC, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21409897.
  13. Bose, Mihika, et al. “Identification of a Flavonoid Isolated from Plum ( Prunus Domestica ) as a Potent Inhibitor of Hepatitis C Virus Entry.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 21 June 2017, www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-04358-5.
  14. Alsolmei, Faten A, et al. “Polyphenol-Enriched Plum Extract Enhances Myotubule Formation and Anabolism While Attenuating Colon Cancer-Induced Cellular Damage in C2C12 Cells.” Nutrients, MDPI, 15 May 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31096595.

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