Fresh figs date back to ancient times as a dietary staple. Early cultures in Europe and Southwestern Asia considered the fig tree sacred, and the Greeks used the fruit as a food for its early Olympians. Figs, particularly fresh figs, are not as pervasive in modern diets, but they remain a sweet and filling source of some vital nutrients.
Composition
A single, medium-size raw fig -- about 2 1/4 inches in diameter -- provides about 37 calories of energy, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It contains a little more than 8 g of sugar and 1.4 g of dietary fiber. Figs have very little fat or protein, and they contain no sodium. A medium-size fig contains 116 mg of potassium and 0.064 mg of manganese, making it a good source of both of those minerals. It also has 18 g of calcium, a fairly high level compared with other fruits.
Fiber Benefits
While all fresh fruits generally are good sources of dietary fiber, the fig is particularly potent. A single cup of fresh figs provides you with almost 60 percent of the fiber you need in a single day. Figs are particularly high in insoluble fiber, the type that does not dissolve in water as it passes through your digestive system. As a result, figs can help you maintain a healthy colon and normal bowel movements, and they even act as a mild laxative if you are constipated. The fiber in figs also makes you feel fuller when you eat them, meaning you will want to eat less, so they can help with weight loss.
Other Health Benefits
Other minerals in figs also provide health benefits. Calcium helps you maintain bone density, and potassium helps you control blood pressure. Manganese helps you maintain a healthy metabolism, contributes to bone development and helps to heal wounds. Like most fruits and vegetables, figs also contain substances known as antioxidants, which help remove disease-causing free radicals from your body. Using figs in cooking adds a natural sweetness to your meals, without the extra calories from refined sugars or the chemicals of artificial sweeteners.
Considerations
Despite a fig's nutritional benefits, it is not a magic bullet for weight loss or disease prevention and should be part of an overall healthy diet of a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats. For example, even though high-fiber foods such as figs can help you control cholesterol levels, a study published in July 2011 in the "Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism" found that merely adding figs to a standard diet did not lower cholesterol levels. Fortunately, the study also found that the sugars from figs did not spike triglyceride levels, either.
References
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: National Nutrient Database
- California Fig Advisory Board: Nutrition
- MayoClinic.com: Dietary Fiber: Essential for a Healthy Diet
- Gayot; The Health Benefits of Figs; Rachel B. Levin
- Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide: Potassium Lowers Blood Pressure
- Linus Pauling Institute: Manganese
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