Health Source

It has been a long known fact that our bodies need more fiber. Nutritionist and health advocates alike have echoed this fact regularly. Frequently, you even hear commercials advertise that the fiber their product contains is good for you and good for your heart so make sure to buy X product today.

Prunes have many other healthy benefits other than fiber but over the years have been long recognized for being a nutrient rich fruit with lots of fiber.

ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbency Capacity) is a measurement of the antioxidant value of foods. The total antioxidant power of chemical substances as well as food is a test tube analysis of measurement which is known as ORAC. Translating to animals some of these studies has shown that this same antioxidant activity will protect cells and their components from oxidative damage as well as in humans.

Using the ORCA measurement they ranked the antioxidant value in some commonly eaten fruits & vegetables and prunes topped the list. With more than two times the power of antioxidants within the fruit; prunes scored higher then such fruits as raisins or blueberries.

A separate study from a university in Boston found that prunes help slow the aging process in the brain as well as in the body in one of their recent studies.

Would you like to prevent senility? Simply add high antioxidant foods to your diet! For the USDA's Agricultural Research Service has further said if you do so the middle aged and young people may be able to slow aging and reduce disease risk.

We all know fiber itself is very necessary and plays a key role in our daily diets, but keep in mind that scientists have identified over 1,700 other biologically working compounds in foods.

The benefits you get from eating a fruit like a prune or plant based foods in general will come in forms much more then fiber itself. These foods can boast the makeup of well-known antioxidants like beta-carotene vitamins C and A but a countless combination of nutrients play a vital role in fruits and vegetables for disease prevention and the promoting of our health.

As far as humanity has come in regards to the research, to the identification, and to the role of nutrients in our foods today; scientists are just beginning to identify and document their activity in our bodies. Among the fiber in a simple prune many have been documented to offer a protective benefit from these antioxidants.

About the Author

Randy has been writing articles for a short time and enjoys health and diet. Reading and now writing about health and diet is an ever growing passion and something he practices himself. If you like crafts like Randy does check out his latest websites at rubber stamps crafts collecting decorative rubber stamps can be very addictive.