Summer is the season for figs, and looking at the bulging figs with purple and red skin in the green color, you can't help but want to break open the flesh and take a bite. That kind of sweet and silky and soft taste, I believe that few people will not like it, even the elderly and children with bad teeth, can enjoy it.
However, limited by transportation conditions, in addition to Shandong Yantai, Weihai, as well as Xinjiang and other fig producing areas of friends, many people may be relatively unfamiliar with it, but in fact, figs are not only delicious, but also very high nutritional value, if you meet, it is highly recommended to try ~
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Nutritional value of figs
Figs, and a very interesting name is "sugar buns". It has this name on the one hand because it does look like a cute bun, and on the other hand, because it has a high sugar content and tastes sweet and glutinous.
1. High sugar content but not high calories
The sugar content of fresh figs can be as high as 16%~20%, which is higher than that of fruits with high sweetness such as mangoes, grapes, and melons, and is only a little lower than bananas. Therefore, if you want to satisfy your hunger or worry about your low blood sugar after exercising, and you don't want to eat sweets or sweets directly, you can choose this fruit with a high sugar content.
The good news is that although the sugar content is not low, the calories of figs are not too high, 65 kcal/100 g is comparable to kiwifruit (61 kcal/100 g), only a little higher than apples (53 kcal/100 g) and pears (51 kcal/100 g), far lower than bananas (92 kcal/100 g), durian (150 kcal/100 g) and other tropical fruits.
2. High dietary fiber content, improve constipation
Figs also have the outstanding advantage of being high in dietary fiber.
Figs have a staggering 3 grams per 100 grams of dietary fiber, which is not only much higher than the "famous" laxative banana (1.2 g/100 g), but even higher than the real high-fiber water - dragon fruit (1.6 g/100 g) and kiwi (2.6 g/100 g). Unexpectedly, figs are really a hidden master of promoting intestinal peristalsis and improving constipation!
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3. Selenium-rich foods
In addition, figs are high in calcium, potassium and selenium.
Fresh figs have a calcium content of 67 mg/100 g, which is considered the highest content among fruits.
At the same time, the potassium content is 212 mg/100 g, which is on par with the excellent molecule banana (256 mg/100 g).
The selenium content in figs reaches 0.67 micrograms/100 grams, although it is not as high as that of mulberries (5.65 micrograms/100 grams), which is a large selenium supplement, but there are not many selenium-rich foods in the daily diet, which are usually relatively rich in aquatic products and nuts, and there are only a handful of fruits with high selenium content. Selenium is a nutrient with a strong antioxidant system, which can improve the body's antioxidant and anti-aging capabilities, and can help maintain myocardial function, while also protecting visual cells.
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The study also found that figs contain a lot of fig polysaccharides and flavonoid phytochemicals. Fig polysaccharides have certain anti-tumor and immunity-improving effects; Flavonoids, on the other hand, can help with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, improve the ability of body cells to resist oxidation and aging, and reduce the risk of inflammatory reactions in the body [1].
Is it better to eat figs dried or fresh?
Although figs are rich in nutrients, they are not easy to store for a long time in a year because they are very seasonal and are not easy to store for a long time. In order to prolong the enjoyment of figs, dried figs came into being.
When it comes to "dried figs", many people's first reaction may be a bag of snacks in the commissary at the school gate when they were children. However, they are not the same. If you pay attention to the ingredient list of this bagged "dried fig", you will find that it is actually made of shredded radish, green papaya, and some flavorings, flavors and other food additives. It is not said to be indiscriminate, but it can also be said to be "selling dog meat on the head of a sheep".
Snack "dried figs". The picture comes from the Internet
A real dried fig not only has the full shape of a fig (there are also cut in half), but the structure of the inner fig's whiskers can be seen when torn open.
And because the sugar content is not low, the taste is even sweeter after drying. The flesh is also chewy, and the crunch of the small sesame fruit in the dried figs makes it crunchy and interesting to chew. Both the taste and texture are quite lovely.
Some people are worried that the dried figs will only be delicious and all the nutrients will be lost? Actually, you don't have to worry about it at all.
On the one hand, the content of some water-soluble nutrients in fresh figs, such as vitamin C (5.2 mg/100 g) and B vitamins, is not prominent. On the other hand, the dominant nutrients in figs, such as sugar, dietary fiber, calcium, potassium and selenium, are not lost much by drying.
Real dried figs. The stock copyright picture, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
Figs have insects?
This has to start with the unique structure of figs.
People often say "flowering and fruiting", but figs look like figs and fruits, what is going on, don't figs need to be pollinated by wind or bees, ants, mosquitoes and flies, can bear fruit? Actually, figs have flowers, but we can't see them from the outside. Moreover, not only figs, but also other plants belonging to the same family as figs also have this characteristic of "figs and fruits".
The flower of the fig, in its "belly". When we bite into the fig, we will see dense, small and numerous filaments, which are actually the inflorescences of the fig. In other words, figs not only have flowers, but also a lot of them!
Some people will surely wonder: if the part we eat is the flower of the fig, where is the "fruit" of the fig? If you look closely, there are also small particles scattered in the inflorescences crowded together, which are the real fruits of figs.
These flowers, which are encased in figs, rely on a small insect that is closely related to the fig's Ficus genus, the ficus wasp.
The picture comes from the Internet
The relationship between the ficus bee and the fig can be said to be "mutual growth and killing".
Figs are dioecious plants, and because the flowers are encased inside, they rely on ficus bees for pollination. Ficus wasps are petite enough to burrow through the gaps at the top of figs and lay eggs in male figs that contain yǐng flowers (female flowers that cannot bear fruit), and feed on the flower juice of the gall flowers after birth.
At the same time, although the ficus wasp cannot lay eggs and reproduce in the female flower, it will bring the pollen contaminated in the male flower into the female flower to complete pollination, so that the fig bears sweet "fruit". It can be said that the ficus wasp is a well-deserved matchmaker for the male and female flowers of figs.
Fortunately, these ficus bees, which live in figs, do not cause any harm to the human body even if they are eaten with the figs. In other words, when you eat figs, you can enjoy the food with confidence and boldness, and it is a combination of meat and vegetables.
Fig bees. The stock copyright picture, reprinting and using may cause copyright disputes
What's more, many of the figs we eat today are artificially cultivated, and they can bear fruit without the need for pollination by ficus bees, let alone worry.
Can people who are losing weight and diabetics eat figs?
Some friends also raised that if the sugar content of dried figs is so high, will it be easy to gain weight? Is it completely impossible for diabetics to eat? Not really.
As mentioned earlier, although figs are high in sugar, fructose accounts for most of them, and the dietary fiber content is quite rich, and most of them are soluble dietary fiber, which can bring a strong feeling of satiety. Rich in flavonoid chemicals also reduce the activity of digestive enzymes, helping to improve insulin sensitivity.
Therefore, not only is the effect on blood sugar much less than eating carbohydrate staple foods such as rice and steamed bread, but if you pay attention to controlling your intake, or use it to replace some staple foods, it can also help you lose weight and help control blood lipids.
If you're really worried about the effect of eating figs or dried figs on your blood sugar, you can also try these tips:
1. Eat with apples, pears, peaches, strawberries and other fruits with sufficient water content and low sugar content. It not only enriches the source of nutrients, but also properly controls the intake of figs.
2. Serve with plain nuts. Nuts are high in protein and unsaturated fatty acids, low in sugar, and satiety, and eaten with fresh figs or dried figs, which not only have a rich taste, but also help regulate blood sugar fluctuations after eating.
3. Eat in limited quantities. For foods with a high sugar content, such as dried figs, it is advisable to take about 20 grams a day, and if the blood sugar is not well controlled, it should be reduced appropriately, or divided into several small amounts.
4. Choose dried figs with original flavor and low degree of processing. Be sure to avoid those that are too highly processed, such as extra sweeteners, salt, and other condiments. Try to choose the original flavor, no additives, low degree of processing, just dried and dehydrated dried fruits to ensure health to the greatest extent.
Watching the figs turn from green to purple, imagining that there are so many sweet "fillings" inside that they are about to overflow the "bun skin", it is indeed exciting. Why don't you take advantage of the season and try it out quickly!
bibliography
[1] Jiang Hongwei, Li Chunying. Chemical Composition, Pharmacological Effects and Clinical Application of Figs, Heilongjiang Science, 2019, No. 6, 12-15.
Planning and production
Author丨Wang Lu, Chinese Registered Dietitian, Master of Public Health, Peking University
Review|Zhang Yu, Researcher/Ph.D., Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Health Science Popularization Expert
Planning|Yang Yaping
Editor丨Yang Yaping, Zhong Yanping