10 Impressive Health Benefits Of Figs You Must Know!
Dry fruits and nuts are taken by people as snacks and people often give to their kids to see them growing healthy physically at least. Figs are a year around fruit that has been taken since centuries to enhance health. It can be eaten as a fruit or by soaking it in honey or water for the night and taken in the morning. Figs are in fact related to mulberries, although their resemblance is not looking like that, and figs come in a variety of colors, ranging from green to red. Ripe figs taste sweet and are filled with an abundance of juice whereas the un-ripened figs are said to have latex that can irritate skin if not handled properly.
Figs are full to the brink with nutrients, can be eaten dried or raw, and are available for making a number of recipes, thanks to their versatility. Mostly the figs are consumed dried, which they undergo naturally or by a drying process.
Dry fruits and nuts are taken by people as snacks and people often give to their kids to see them growing healthy physically at least. Figs are a year around fruit that has been taken since centuries to enhance health. It can be eaten as a fruit or by soaking it in honey or water for the night and taken in the morning. Figs are in fact related to mulberries, although their resemblance is not looking like that, and figs come in a variety of colors, ranging from green to red. Ripe figs taste sweet and are filled with an abundance of juice whereas the un-ripened figs are said to have latex that can irritate the skin if not handled properly.
Figs are full to the brink with nutrients, can be eaten dried or raw, and are available for making a number of recipes, thanks to their versatility. Mostly the figs are consumed dried, which they undergo naturally or by a drying process.
Nutritive Value of Figs
Figs have very low calories, just 75 per 100 grams serving (2 figs). In fact, they contain;
- Total Carbohydrates- 19g
- Dietary Fiber- 2.9g approx. 12% RDI
- Sugars-16.3g
- Protein -0.7g
- Vitamin A-142IU
- Vitamin C-2.0mg
- Vitamin K-4.7mcg
- Folic Acid-6.0mcg
- Calcium-35.0mg
- Magnesium-17.0mg
- Phosphorus-14.0mg
- Potassium-232mg
As discussed, earlier figs are a great source of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrate, protein, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium which are healthy if we add it in our routine diet. Fig can easily reduce the weight of obese people. It has various benefits which need to be discussed in detail.
- Keeps diabetes under control: Although figs do contain sugar, according to GI index they contain less than the average and have a high amount of fiber, thus making it an amazing snack for diabetic people. Figs also have potassium that helps in the absorption of glucose into muscle cells, and also maintain the rise and fall of blood sugar to ensure that it does not fall below the required level. A fig or 2 can be taken as a snack by diabetics help to sort out the problem of finding good foods that can be taken between the meals that also prove to be healthy.
- Helps in preventing cancer: Hormonal imbalance is the most common factor responsible for breast cancer but mostly these happens in genetics. In fact, the females who eat figs regularly have lower risk of getting this type of cancer. It contains fiber in a fair amount that makes elimination of wastage in time and controls the metabolism of some hormones and toxins. The exact reason is unclear yet but its habitual use has shown some positive results.
- It also prevents colon cancer as it never lets the wastage lie for too long. People might have constipation which enhances the chances of getting colon cancer. A diet high in fiber becomes necessary when the body’s waste products stay on for long, which can cause negative changes in the colon mucosa when exposed to the waste products for a long time and colon polyps may also develop and these have the tendency to turn cancerous.
- Helps in controlling blood pressure: Many people don’t have enough amount of potassium which is necessary for the body to function normally. It can be obtained easily from healthy diet. The problem becomes grim when the processed foods which have loads of sodium, people get used to them as they suit their taste buds and dodge the natural foods. Figs do have a sweet taste and eating them is not a daily routine like it happens with other veggies & fruits. Potassium also exerts the sodium helping the people who suffer from high blood pressure.
- Promotes the health of your bones: Bones do require synthesis and maintenance otherwise they can become delicate and figs have all the nutrients that keep their structure strong. Sometimes a person becomes allergic to calcium to keep his/her bones strong and calcium is the only mineral that can keep up the synthesis of bones in a healthy way. The bones do need some other nutrients like magnesium, zinc, vitamin D & K, which are available in figs. These nutrients keep the skeleton of your body in strong shape.
- Figs help in lowering cholesterol: Actually, foods keep working to reduce the high level of cholesterol. In the case related to figs, these contain a compound known as pectin. Pectin, in fact, is a soluble fiber that buckles up with cholesterol and helps in flushing it out of the body along with the waste material. It also has Phyto-sterols compounds that are considered as an amazing natural remedy and an alternative of strong medications for reducing the high levels of cholesterol & triglycerides. All these benefits are available when we eat this fruit of figs in a raw form, but its leaves have also shown the oxidation of triglycerides among the animals.
- Accelerates the recovery of sore throat: Taking bed rest is the best remedy for recovery from a sore throat, but a little help can do wonders for you. This help is provided by figs that have a high content of mucilage compounds, something that has a thin constitution. The sore throat causes irritation and inflammation and figs give it a laminated cover that speeds up healing. Usually, the sore throat gets healed by some mucilage compounds like glycerin or honey to speed up the healing process.
- Helps in proper liver functioning: Figs help the liver in functioning optimally after detoxifying it and allow the liver enzymes to function properly. Alcoholism puts the liver metabolizing enzymes under a high scar and to bring them back to the normal position, we need the help of figs.
Figs have many other benefits too like figs help preserve vision, figs can help with weight loss, can help treat constipation, improves heart health, work effectively for sexual dysfunction. Consuming soaked figs early in the morning help in enhancing the libido and can work quite effectively on sexual problems like sexual dysfunction and help in restoring the sterility. This property of fig is due to the presence of the numerous vitamins and minerals in it. But it will be better to seek the advice of an Ayurvedic expert before you proceed.
