Plums

Whether they are eaten whole, added to fruit salads, baked goods, puddings, meat dishes, plums are nutritious low calorie food. One medium size fresh plum contains only 36 calories and is a good source of such dietary fibers as cellulose and pectin. Dried form of plums becomes prunes which has some source of calories and nutrients. Plums contain anthocyanins the reddish blue pigments that lend them their intense color. These antioxidant pigments protect against cancer and heart disease by mopping up the free radicals, unstable molecules that damage cells. They are 140 varieties of plums available in North America and they are five main types such as American, damson, European, Japanese and ornamental plums. Plums may produce an allergic reaction in susceptible people and people who have allergic to aspirin may also encounter problem after they have eaten plums.