Fight Time With This Wrinkled Gem
Author: Shannon Miller
Health and fitness expert, motivational speaker, and wellness consultant Susan Smith Jones, PhD, recommends natural ways to rejuvenate your health in her new book Walking on Air: Your 30-Day Inside and Out Rejuvenation Makeover.
by Susan Smith Jones, PhD
With a new name and a new image, the dried plum — you know it as a prune — is now proven to fight the diseases of aging, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer, and yes, constipation.
Grandma Fritzie gave out prunes like candy and she would have appreciated the studies. Tufts University researches have discovered this wrinkled wonder to contain more than twice as many antioxidants as the next highest food—the raisin. Oklahoma State scientists found in a study that this fruit actually helps restore bone density after losses that occurred!
Plus, it has the same cancer-fighting component as apples, grapefruit and oranges. Eat them out of hand, cut them up and add them to grain dishes, muffins and breads. I often re-hydrate prunes and puree them in a blender to add to smoothies (as a thickener and taste-enhancer) and baked goods (to help keep them moist). Pureed prunes make a good substitute for chocolate, too.