In the spotlight - Plums

Now that August is under way, yet more fruit and veg enter into the seasonal basket. If you're lucky enough to have some fruit trees in your garden or know someone who does, you will soon be able to enjoy juicy plums. Whether you serve them stewed with custard, make them into a crumble or slice them on top of yoghurt or cereal, you'll get a good dose of nutrients - as we've said previously it is the dark skinned and fleshed fruits that pack the biggest nutritional punch.

Plums or more precisely prunes - their dried cousins - are often quoted as being good to keep you regular. We all probably have heard of someone who takes a glass of prune juice each day to do just that. However, what's the scientific basis for this? Plums do indeed have three components that can benefit the digestive system, helping the transit of  what we eat through our intestines.

• The first is fibre. Plums are rich in both insoluble fibre (found in their skin, this type of fibre adds bulk) and soluble fibre (found in their flesh, this type of fibre absorbs water).
• They are also rich in sorbitol, a sugar alcohol, which exerts a laxative effect by drawing water into the bowel.
• Lastly they contain isatin, another natural laxative, which is thought to stimulate contraction of the intestines.

Whether you're interested in the laxative effect of plums or not, they're still a top fruit to include in your diet. If you're after some alternative ideas for how to eat them - they feature in a number of savoury dishes - explore the following links for more suggestions:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/plum
http://www.cookitsimply.com/category-0020-0228p.html
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/plum
http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/popular-ingredients/plum

Photo by Genet at the German language Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons