{"id":18123,"date":"2015-10-19T22:53:48","date_gmt":"2015-10-20T02:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right--best-to-eat-your-prunes.html"},"modified":"2017-11-29T07:58:36","modified_gmt":"2017-11-29T12:58:36","slug":"grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/","title":{"rendered":"Grandma Was Right- Best to Eat Your Prunes"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all have
\na love of the microbiome
\nby now<\/a>, right? After all, these little critters seem to have incredible
\nsuperpowers in modulating our health. A healthy bug population in our insides (and
\noutside)<\/a> plays a role in favorably modulating our mood, quieting inflammation,
\nbalancing our immune response, assisting in assimilation, impacting our weight,
\nand aiding our digestive woes… amongst many other functions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One
\nof the major ways we can ensure a healthy critter habitat in our bellies is our
\ndiet. In fact, a recent study hinted that the beneficial effect of the Mediterranean
\ndiet may in fact be a side-effect of the beneficial amount of belly-bug food it
\nhas. It’s the ever important substance of fiber which produces short chain
\nfatty acids, which may be the link between benefits of various healthy diets
\nand bug happiness.<\/p>\n

According
\nto Health Day:<\/p>\n

Numerous
\nstudies have extolled the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Now,
\nresearch suggests the regimen may also boost levels of beneficial fatty acids.<\/i><\/p>\n

These
\nso-called “short chain fatty acids” are produced by bacteria in the
\nintestine during fermentation of insoluble fiber from fruits, vegetables and
\nlegumes. The fatty acids are believed to provide a number of health benefits,
\nincluding a lower risk of diabetes, heart disease and inflammatory diseases, an
\nItalian team reports in the Sept. 29 issue of the journal Gut.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What
\ndoes this have to do with prunes? According to Dr. Mercola, dried plums may be a good
\nsource of bug food and modulate colon cancer risk due to their beneficial
\ncompounds. He states:<\/p>\n

Dried
\nplums are rich in potassium, fiber, and phytochemicals, including antioxidants,
\nall of which may help lower your risk of chronic disease. However, it’s dried
\nplums’ influence on the bacteria in your colon that may be most impressive of
\nall.<\/i><\/p>\n

In an
\nanimal study, researchers fed rats either a diet containing dried plums or a
\ncontrol diet (the same as the first diet but without the plums). Those fed the
\ndried plums had significant increases in the number of bacteria in the gut
\nknown as Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes.<\/i><\/p>\n

Rats
\non the dried-plum diet also had reduced numbers of aberrant crypts, which are
\nsigns of precancerous lesions that may be an indicator for future cancer
\ndevelopment. Study author Dr. Nancy Turner explained:4<\/sup><\/i><\/p>\n

“From this study we were able to
\nconclude that dried plums did, in fact, appear to promote retention of
\nbeneficial microbiota and microbial metabolism throughout the colon, which was
\nassociated with a reduced incidence of precancerous lesions.”<\/i><\/p>\n

A 2005
\nstudy similarly revealed that dried plums “favorably altered… colon cancer risk
\nfactors” in rats, possibly due to their high content of dietary fiber and
\npolyphenolics.5<\/sup><\/i><\/p>\n

Other
\nstudies have also reported beneficial effects of prunes on health, specifically
\nin relationship to their nutrient content and phenolics. In a 2001 literature
\nreview, the authors further highlighted the many benefits of dried plums, including
\ntheir gut-supporting fiber content, heart healthy phenolics, and boron content
\nfor bone health:<\/p>\n

Prunes are
\ndried plums, fruits of Prunus domestica L., cultivated and propagated since
\nancient times. Most dried prunes are produced from cultivar d’Agen, especially
\nin California and France, where the cultivar originated. After harvest,
\nprune-making plums are dehydrated in hot air at 85 to 90 degrees C for 18 h,
\nthen further processed into prune juice, puree, or other prune products. This
\nextensive literature review summarizes the current knowledge of chemical
\ncomposition of prunes and their biological effects on human health. Because of
\ntheir sweet flavor and well-known mild laxative effect, prunes are considered
\nto be an epitome of functional foods, but the understanding of their mode of
\naction is still unclear. Dried prunes contain approximately 6.1 g of dietary
\nfiber per 100 g, while prune juice is devoid of fiber due to filtration before
\nbottling. The laxative action of both prune and prune juice could be explained
\nby their high sorbitol content (14.7 and 6.1 g\/100 g, respectively). Prunes are
\ngood source of energy in the form of simple sugars, but do not mediate a rapid
\nrise in blood sugar concentration, possibly because of high fiber, fructose,
\nand sorbitol content. Prunes contain large amounts of phenolic compounds (184
\nmg\/100 g), mainly as neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids, which may aid in the
\nlaxative action and delay glucose absorption. Phenolic compounds in prunes had
\nbeen found to inhibit human LDL oxidation in vitro, and thus might serve as
\npreventive agents against chronic diseases, such as heart disease and cancer.
\nAdditionally, high potassium content of prunes (745 mg\/100 g) might be beneficial
\nfor cardiovascular health. Dried prunes are an important source of boron, which
\nis postulated to play a role in prevention of osteoporosis. A serving of prunes
\n(100 g) fulfills the daily requirement for boron (2 to 3 mg). More research is
\nneeded to assess the levels of carotenoids and other phytochemicals present in
\nprunes to ensure correct labeling and accuracy of food composition tables in
\norder to support dietary recommendations or health claims.<\/i><\/p>\n

Another study in 2013 also reported on the benefits
\nof various bioactive compounds, nutrients, and resulting satiety. This study
\nalso mentions the phenolic compounds that may modulate gastrointestinal health.
\nIts abstract reads:<\/p>\n

This paper
\ndescribes composition of dried plums and their products (prune juice and dried
\nplum powder) with special attention to possibly bioactive compounds. Dried
\nplums contain significant amounts of sorbitol, quinic acid, chlorogenic acids,
\nvitamin K1, boron, copper, and potassium. Synergistic action of these and other
\ncompounds, which are also present in dried plums in less conspicuous amounts,
\nmay have beneficial health effects when dried plums are regularly consumed.
\nSnacking on dried plums may increase satiety and reduce the subsequent intake
\nof food, helping to control obesity, diabetes, and related cardiovascular
\ndiseases. Despite their sweet taste, dried plums do not cause large
\npostprandial rise in blood glucose and insulin. Direct effects in the
\ngastrointestinal tract include prevention of constipation and possibly colon
\ncancer. The characteristic phenolic compounds and their metabolites may also
\nact as antibacterial agents in both gastrointestinal and urinary tracts. The
\nindirect salutary effects on bone turnover are supported by numerous laboratory
\nstudies with animals and cell cultures. Further investigation of phenolic
\ncompounds in dried plums, particularly of high molecular weight polymers, their
\nmetabolism and biological actions, alone and in synergy with other dried plum
\nconstituents, is necessary to elucidate the observed health effects and to
\nindicate other benefits. <\/i><\/p>\n

Therefore,
\nalong with your apple and broccoli, you may want to add a prune or two to your
\nmenu.<\/p>\n

Don’t Forget Phenolic-Loving Essential Oils<\/b><\/p>\n

Do
\nyou know what other health tool I love has phenolics that can modulate gut
\nmicrobiome health? Essential oils!<\/p>\n

I’m doing an essential oil webinar\/teleseminar on October 28th<\/sup>.<\/b> If you are
\ninterested, make sure you are on my essential oil blog
\nnewsletter<\/a> list so you can receive the log-in information within the next
\nfew days.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

References:<\/p>\n

Health
\nDay. More Evidence High-Fiber, Mediterranean Diet Is Good for You. September
\n29, 2015.<\/p>\n

Mercola,
\nJ. Dried Plums Could Lower Risk for Colon Cancer. Mercola.com. October 12, 2015.<\/p>\n

Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis
\nM, Bowen PE, Hussain EA, Damayanti-Wood BI, Farnsworth NR. Chemical composition
\nand potential health effects of prunes: a functional food? Crit Rev Food<\/i> Sci Nutr. 2001 May;41(4):251-86.<\/p>\n

Yang
\nY, Gallaher DD. Effect of dried plums on colon cancer risk factors in rats. Nutr Cancer<\/i>. 2005;53(1):117-25.<\/p>\n

Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis M. Dried plums and their products:
\ncomposition and health effects–an updated review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2013;53(12):1277-302.
\ndoi: 10.1080\/10408398.2011.563880.<\/p>\n

Caba,
\nJ. Dried Fruit vs. Fresh Fruit: Why Eating Dried Plums (Prunes) Can Lower
\nYour Risk For Colon Cancer. Medical
\nDaily. September 29, 2015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all have a love of the microbiome by now, right? After all, these little critters seem to have incredible superpowers in modulating our health. A healthy bug population in our insides (and outside) plays a role in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[349,857,858,869,996,1029],"yoast_head":"\r\nGrandma Was Right- Best to Eat Your Prunes - Living Well In Saratoga Springs NY: Saratoga's Holistic Health Forum Blog<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grandma Was Right- Best to Eat Your Prunes - Living Well In Saratoga Springs NY: Saratoga's Holistic Health Forum Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We all have a love of the microbiome by now, right? After all, these little critters seem to have incredible superpowers in modulating our health. A healthy bug population in our insides (and outside) plays a role in...\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Living Well In Saratoga Springs NY: Saratoga's Holistic Health Forum Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-10-20T02:53:48+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-11-29T12:58:36+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Sarah\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr. Sarah\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/\",\"name\":\"Grandma Was Right- Best to Eat Your Prunes - Living Well In Saratoga Springs NY: Saratoga's Holistic Health Forum Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-10-20T02:53:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-11-29T12:58:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/#\/schema\/person\/6872284eed515076e2993a69584827e3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Grandma Was Right- Best to Eat Your Prunes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/\",\"name\":\"Living Well In Saratoga Springs NY: Saratoga's Holistic Health Forum Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/#\/schema\/person\/6872284eed515076e2993a69584827e3\",\"name\":\"Dr. Sarah\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b37e59a320fe3e87499bec9e197eda9c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b37e59a320fe3e87499bec9e197eda9c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dr. Sarah\"},\"description\":\"Dr. LoBisco has been in holistic healthcare for over 10 years. She became interested in holistic medicine when she was able to heal two herniated discs through nutrition, yoga, supplementation, and chiropractic. She has mentored with holistic practices throughout New York, Vermont, and Connecticut. In addition to her Naturopathic and Functional Medical training, Dr. LoBisco has extensive training in a variety of healing modalities, including therapeutic essential oils, nutraceuticals, herbs, whole food supplements, nutritional medicine, and mind-body therapies. She is a graduate of the accredited, four year post-graduate program in Naturopathic Medicine at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. This program includes clinical rotations and a demanding scientific curriculum in integrating conventional and natural medicine. Dr. LoBisco holds her license from the state of Vermont. Dr. LoBisco has completed her postdoctoral training as a certified functional medicine practitioner. She is also certified in Applied Kinesiology and holds a BA in psychology from SUNY Geneseo. She has contributed as an item writer for the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE) and has several articles that have been published in the Naturopathic Doctor News and Review Digest (NDNR) and the Townsend Letter, both physician- based journals. Dr. LoBisco is also a hired speaker on integrative medical topics for medical professionals. Dr. LoBisco currently incorporates her training in holistic medical practices and conventional medicine through writing, researching, private practice, and through her independent contracting work for companies regarding supplements, nutraceuticals, essential oils, and medical foods. She has a small, private wellness consultation practice through telephone and Skype. Dr. LoBisco also enjoys continuing to educate and empower her readers through her blogs and social media. Her new book, BreakFree Medicine, is now available on Amazon and through Barnes & Noble.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/author\/slobisco\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Grandma Was Right- Best to Eat Your Prunes - Living Well In Saratoga Springs NY: Saratoga's Holistic Health Forum Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Grandma Was Right- Best to Eat Your Prunes - Living Well In Saratoga Springs NY: Saratoga's Holistic Health Forum Blog","og_description":"We all have a love of the microbiome by now, right? After all, these little critters seem to have incredible superpowers in modulating our health. A healthy bug population in our insides (and outside) plays a role in...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/","og_site_name":"Living Well In Saratoga Springs NY: Saratoga's Holistic Health Forum Blog","article_published_time":"2015-10-20T02:53:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-11-29T12:58:36+00:00","author":"Dr. Sarah","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dr. Sarah","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/","name":"Grandma Was Right- Best to Eat Your Prunes - Living Well In Saratoga Springs NY: Saratoga's Holistic Health Forum Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-10-20T02:53:48+00:00","dateModified":"2017-11-29T12:58:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/#\/schema\/person\/6872284eed515076e2993a69584827e3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2015\/10\/grandma-was-right-best-to-eat-your-prunes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Grandma Was Right- Best to Eat Your Prunes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/","name":"Living Well In Saratoga Springs NY: Saratoga's Holistic Health Forum Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/#\/schema\/person\/6872284eed515076e2993a69584827e3","name":"Dr. Sarah","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b37e59a320fe3e87499bec9e197eda9c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b37e59a320fe3e87499bec9e197eda9c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dr. Sarah"},"description":"Dr. LoBisco has been in holistic healthcare for over 10 years. She became interested in holistic medicine when she was able to heal two herniated discs through nutrition, yoga, supplementation, and chiropractic. She has mentored with holistic practices throughout New York, Vermont, and Connecticut. In addition to her Naturopathic and Functional Medical training, Dr. LoBisco has extensive training in a variety of healing modalities, including therapeutic essential oils, nutraceuticals, herbs, whole food supplements, nutritional medicine, and mind-body therapies. She is a graduate of the accredited, four year post-graduate program in Naturopathic Medicine at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. This program includes clinical rotations and a demanding scientific curriculum in integrating conventional and natural medicine. Dr. LoBisco holds her license from the state of Vermont. Dr. LoBisco has completed her postdoctoral training as a certified functional medicine practitioner. She is also certified in Applied Kinesiology and holds a BA in psychology from SUNY Geneseo. She has contributed as an item writer for the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE) and has several articles that have been published in the Naturopathic Doctor News and Review Digest (NDNR) and the Townsend Letter, both physician- based journals. Dr. LoBisco is also a hired speaker on integrative medical topics for medical professionals. Dr. LoBisco currently incorporates her training in holistic medical practices and conventional medicine through writing, researching, private practice, and through her independent contracting work for companies regarding supplements, nutraceuticals, essential oils, and medical foods. She has a small, private wellness consultation practice through telephone and Skype. Dr. LoBisco also enjoys continuing to educate and empower her readers through her blogs and social media. Her new book, BreakFree Medicine, is now available on Amazon and through Barnes & Noble.","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/author\/slobisco\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18123"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28019,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18123\/revisions\/28019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}