What are the benefits of prunes

Prunes are a fairly common dried fruit, which has found application in medicine, cooking and cosmetology.

But in addition to its positive qualities, it has a number of contraindications. What are the benefits and harms of prunes?

The fruit contains many substances useful for the body.... It includes fats, proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, as well as vitamins and minerals:

• vitamin A;
• B vitamins;
• folic acid;
• vitamin E;
• vitamin C;
• potassium;
• calcium;
• sodium;
• magnesium;
• chlorine;
• phosphorus;
• copper;
• zinc;
• iron.

Contained in prunes minerals are vital for the body for the prevention of many diseases.

Besides, fruits contain glucose, sucrose and fructose, which nourish cells with energy and are responsible for the functioning of the body.

All these valuable qualities speak about the undoubted benefits of prunes, which can be taken along with medications.

Protector products. Prunes:

What heals

Besides the fact that prunes have a good taste, it has a beneficial effect on the entire body... It is used for the preparation of various dietary meals and for treatment.

First of all, drying prunes is advised to take for stomach diseases and for their prevention... You need to eat at least five berries a day. They help to normalize the metabolism in the body, gently affect the intestinal motility.

Nutritionists advise taking prunes everyone who wants to lose weight and improve the health of the body... Its fiber composition helps to cope with constipation. Regular consumption of prunes helps to reduce up to three kilograms of weight in a short time.

Prunes are an excellent alternative to antibiotic therapy. He copes well with oral microbes, slows down their growth, reduces the number of bacteria.

Prunes indicated for a number of cardiovascular diseases: atherosclerosis, hypertension, thrombophlebitis. Daily use of drying helps to normalize pressure, strengthen the walls of blood vessels and capillaries.

With the help of prunes, you can get rid of kidney disease. You can use drying to improve vision... The fruits are rich in carotene, which has a positive effect on the eye muscle.

Nursing mothers can use prunes if the baby has a tendency to constipation. Often, prunes are recommended for the prevention of glandular anemia and vitamin deficiency in a pregnant woman.

Adequate potassium allows drying with urolithiasis for the excretion of bile.

In addition to all of the above, prunes increase appetite, improve skin condition, helps to cheer up and relieve fatigue, has a positive effect on performance. Many women have discovered the anti-aging properties of prunes.

BUT oncologists advise regularly use prunes for all girls as a preventive measure against cancer.

Nutritionists recommend prunes to their patients to remove toxins from the body... Drying serves as an alternative to sweets, well dulls the feeling of hunger and satiates.

It is irreplaceable with any diet.It is added to vegetable salads and consumed soaked.

Prunes are rightfully called a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. Regular intake of prunes reduces the risk of tooth decay!

Harm and contraindications for use

It is clear that such a healthy fruit cannot harm the body if consumed correctly... However, taking prunes as a medicine must be agreed with your doctor.

In some cases, its use only aggravates the situation:

• prunes are high-calorie fruits, so you cannot take them at some stages of obesity;
• there is a lot of sugar in prunes. Patients with diabetes mellitus need to use dried prunes with caution;
• lactating mothers should give up the fruit if the child has aggravated colic and a stool disorder appears;
• the reason for refusal from prunes can be individual intolerance and food allergies.

Also, do not eat suspicious fruit that was bought too cheap... It most likely contains unacceptable additives and preservatives that can cause health problems.

How to choose a quality

It is useful for a simple layman to know that it is better to go to the market for quality prunes... Shop counters are filled with low-quality goods.

When choosing a drying, it is important to pay attention to the following points:

1. Taste... A seller who is confident in his product will definitely offer to taste the berry. Don't refuse! The taste of a good prune should be sweetish, with a slight sourness, but without obvious bitterness.
2. Colour... Processed fruits do not lose their color if soaked in water. A quality product has a deep black color. If you soak it, it will become lighter. In addition, if the drying color is dark brown, then this indicates a bitter taste. It appears due to a violation of production technology.
3. A whole fruit that contains a seed is considered more useful.

In order for the delicacy to bring maximum benefit, it needs to be stored properly.

How to choose prunes:

How to cook at home

For home harvesting of prunes not all varieties of plum are suitable... It is best to make drying from the varieties: Vengerka, Renklode, Stanley, Burton, Crooman.

Necessary actions:

1. The plum is washed, sorted and the seeds are removed.
2. The halves are blanched in water with the addition of baking soda for about 30 seconds.
3. Then the drain is washed and cooled.
4. Dry fruits in any available way: in an electric dryer or oven.

Drying plums in the oven takes place in several stages, each of which lasts at least three hours. First, the plums are dried at a temperature of 55 degrees, after which they are turned over to the other side and cooled.

Further, they continue to dry at a temperature of 70 degrees. After that, the plum is cooled and dried at a temperature of 90 degrees.

To make prunes shiny, at the end of drying, the temperature is increased to 120 degrees.

Homemade prunes made from tough, sour, late plums:

How to store it correctly

If the use of prunes should be regular, then it is better to stock up on quality fruit in advance. How to keep drying for maximum benefit?

There are several proven ways:

• in glass containers;
• in bags;
• in bags with a fastener.

The leader in all of the above methods is storage of prunes in glass. With proper preparation of berries, shelf life can last up to 12 months:

1. The fruits are well sorted out and dried in the oven, cooled.
2. Glass containers are sterilized and dried.
3. The finished fruits are tightly packed into jars, closed with lids.

You can store such prunes in the basement. An important condition is a cold and dark place.

If it is not necessary to store the prunes for so long, then they can be placed in a cloth bag. The shelf life of fruits is from 3 to 6 months:

1. The fruits are sorted out and dried.
2. The tissue bags are kept in a saline solution for about two hours, after which they are dried.
3. Fruits are packed tightly into bags.

During storage, the berries do not grow moldy and do not lose their beneficial properties, but they attract rodents. Therefore, you need to choose a closed and dry storage place.

If there are foods with a specific smell nearby, the prunes will absorb them. Store drying separately from other foods.

The easiest way to store prunes is in zippered plastic bags. Shelf life of the workpiece about 1 month:

1. Sort the berries and dry in the oven.
2. Arrange the drying bag and zip it up.
3. Keep refrigerated.

In order for the prunes to breathe, the bags are not fully buttoned.

Prunes - a panacea for many diseases... It helps to enjoy beauty, youth and feel healthy. After a detailed study of all the positive properties of prunes, doctors recommend it for daily use.

The properties of the fruit are preserved during processing. From drying, you can prepare desserts, compotes, decoctions, infusions, add it to hot dishes. It goes well with any kind of meat and mushrooms, giving them some sweetness.