Q.

I’ve heard prunes slow cell aging by fighting free radicals.

A.

Prunes – or as their PR agency desperately wants you to call them, dried plums – are nature’s little fountain of youth when it comes to your cells. That’s because these crinkly sweet dried fruits are loaded with minerals and vitamins that rev up your body’s own antioxidant production.

The antioxidants your cells make (not the ones you consume) handcuff free radicals, escorting them out of your body and preventing the kinds of damage that invite everything from heart disease to cancer.

Prunes, once only known for their laxative power (they’ll get you moving in the morning), also are high in phenolic compounds that research suggests are behind the heart-healthy effects of the Mediterranean diet. This makes prunes not only anti-aging but anti-inflammatory and anti-clotting as well. Talk about super-foods.

But there’s more: If you’re watching your waist, try prunes as an appetizer. We agree, it’s not caviar or even a shrimp cocktail. But people in a recent study who snacked on prunes before meals were more likely to feel full, eat less and even turn down dessert than people who noshed on bread were. For that, we’ll call them dried plums.

From the Appeal Democrat Newspaper

August 15, 2010

The You Docs

Mehmet OZ

Mike Roizen