Plums are a tasty, juicy fruit that is eaten by many people.
Plums are readily eaten by children, not because they are so good for health – but because they taste so good! Adults are obviously quite partial to them too!
Nutrition
Plums primarily contain carbohydrates, with 9.6g per 100g. This may seem quite a bit but they’re all naturally occurring sugars. They have just 0.1g fat and 0.6g protein per 100g. They are low in calories, i.e. 39 per 100g, and have a high water content.
They also contain many vitamins and minerals that have important roles in the body. Plums contain a lot of calcium, which ensures blood clots normally amongst other things. Other things such as magnesium, which can help to manage the symptoms of stress and reduce fatigue, are found and folate, which helps the body to form healthy red blood cells is also found in plums. Plums also contain vitamin C, which helps with the functioning of your immune system and wound healing (just to name a few things), and carotene, which converts to vitamin A which also helps to support the normal function of the immune system.
Health
If you’ve never had one before, be careful, because like most things, you can be allergic to them. The allergy associated with plums is also associated with apple and celery allergies, so keep that in mind too. Just be careful basically!
80g of plums count as one of your 5 a day, and you should be able to get that in with 1 decent-sized plum. For smaller ones, you may need to eat two.
Oh, plums also have a big hard seed in the middle, which should not be eaten. It’s rock solid, and could easily be choked on if you tried to swallow it – so don’t.
Final notes
If you want the best plums, you should get them when they’re in season, and check they are ripe. Ripe plums feel heavy, with their skin giving in slightly when pressed. If the plums are too soft, they’re probably overripe – and they don’t taste as good. Don’t forget to check for any exterior damage on them too, like bruises for example.
