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Eat This Snack to Get
Skinnier
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There's a sweet, super-smart snack that could help you feel fuller, so you'd eat less at mealtimes and fit into your jeans better.
We're talking about prunes…or dried plums. By any name, research shows that these dried fruits may help whittle people's waists by causing them to eat
less.
Hunger Be Gone
When researchers gave 45 volunteers a midmorning nibble of white bread and low-fat cheese, adding prunes to the snack produced some significant
findings. The snackers reported feeling less hungry after the prune-infused nosh -- and they ate 6 percent fewer calories at lunch compared with when
they had snacked on just bread and cheese.
The Fiber Factor
So what gives prunes the advantage in edging out hunger? It's the fiber. Even though each test snack had roughly the same amount of protein, calories,
carbs, and fat, the prune snack packed more than twice the fiber. That chewy fiber makes you eat more slowly, allowing your brain to realize when
you've had enough to eat. And the roughage sits in your stomach for a long time, slowing down digestion. The fiber also reduces the rate at which sugar is
soaked up into your bloodstream -- good for keeping insulin levels on an even keel and reducing between-meal hunger pangs.
Prunes are also great for your bones and heart. A laboratory study of the polyphenols in prunes showed that they boosted bone formation, density,
and strength. How? By affecting the way certain bone-regulating gene cells are expressed.
A Plum Choice for Your Heart
Results from animal studies suggest that dried plums can help keep arteries clear. Researchers suspect that prune flavonoids help reduce the
inflammation that plays a big role in artery disease.
Big Benefits, Little Package
If that isn't enough motivation to pick up a pack of prunes, consider this: Just 10 prunes delivers 20 percent of your daily potassium and copper
requirements, 14 percent of your iron requirements, and 10 percent of your manganese and zinc requirements. Prunes also provide a whopping dose of
the essential vitamins A, C, E, and B-complex, including folate. And we all know that prunes are a super source of fiber.
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