August 2010 Newsletter
Food focus: Plums
Do you have
preferences among the fruits? If so,
your body might be telling you something.
Bananas we all know have lots of potassium. Raisins and dates can
provide iron. Plums, like apricots, are
a good source of vitamin A. But did you know that plums also tend to have
oxalic acid? This means, among other
things, that too many plums might be bad for your bones. Oxalic acid binds with calcium and thus makes
it less available. For the same reason,
plums would be a bad choice if you are likely to be plagued by kidney
stones.
Prunes
Prunes --
which some ads prefer to dress up as ‘dried plums’ -- are famous for their
laxative effect (and if you’re in a hurry, warm the prune juice for speedier
results). But prunes are much more than
laxatives, as they improve many dishes, especially meat dishes. The French serve them with rabbit, North
Africans include them along with apricots in their tagines, and they are good in desserts as well as in these savory
meat dishes. The concentrated sugars are
two thirds glucose and one third fructose, so diabetics should be chary. Like plums, they are a source of vitamin A.
Umeboshi Plums
According to The Encyclopedia of Asian Food and Cooking
(J. Passmore, Hearst Books, 1991) these Japanese plums which are pickled in
salt, or the paste made from them, are considered cleansing. Other authorities describe them as alkalizing
– and in fact their nick-name is “the Japanese alka-seltzer.” So, if you don’t want Tums, sample one of
these, or a bit of the paste on a cracker.
Should you develop a taste for umeboshi plums, try to find them made
with sea salt, so you won’t be taking on board the anti-caking and other usual
additions to refined salt.
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