Plums for weight loss

Plums are known for their versatility. The fruit tastes great whether on its own, cut up in cereals and yoghurt, or even cooked to make a syrupy sauces for healthy dessert dishes.

If you eat a couple of plums at a time, you'll get more than a fair dose of vitamins A and C, the B vitamin riboflavin, potassium, and fibre. These nutrients will help protect your skin cells, keep your heart healthy, and boost immunity.

Plums contain phenols, a type of phytonutrient. Phenols are strong antioxidants. The type in plums are particularly good at protecting the fats in our cell membranes and brain, as well the fats circulating in our bloodstream.

Plum skins come in a rainbow of colours: red, purple, black, green, blue, and even yellow. Plum flesh is surprisingly colourful, too. It can be yellow, orange, green, or red.

When choosing plums, look for plump fruit with a bright or deep colour covered with a powdery "bloom," which is its natural protection. If it yields to gentle palm pressure, it's ripe. If not, as long as it isn't rock hard, it will ripen at home. But it won't get sweeter, just softer.

To ripen plums, place them in a loosely closed paper bag at room temperature. Check them frequently so they won't get shriveled or moldy. When slightly soft, refrigerate or eat them.

Apart from the fibre found particularly in the skins of plums, its versatility will offer you healthy weight-loss choices and help keep you from falling into an eating rut.

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