9 healthy reasons to eat black plums or jamun

Although the monsoon is still about to set in, those sweetish, sour purple-black plums, popularly called jamun in India, have started appearing in the market. And there’s absolutely no reason for you to shy away from it. Apart from giving that peculiar colour to your tongue, the jamun fruit also offer a lot of health benefits. Here are they

Jamun has been traditionally used for its anti-diabetic properties since several decades. Later several experiments and clinical studies confirmed the anti-hyperglycemic effect of various parts of the plant. Jamun has a low glycemic index which prevents spike in blood sugar. It also contains compound like thocyanins, ellagic acid, isoquercetin and myrecetin which stops the conversion of starch into sugar. It also enhances insulin activity and sensitivity.

If you constantly feel weak and fall sick with seasonal changes every time, then you need to eat foods that will make your immune system stronger. And jamun being rich in powerful antioxidants will surely help you improve your immunity.

Jamun contains nutrients like calcium, iron, potassium and Vitamin C making it great for strengthening bones.

The potassium rich content of jamun makes it an effective natural remedy for treating high blood pressure. A 100g serving of jamun will give you 55 mg of potassium. A study by Ladeji and colleagues found that jaumun significantly reduces systolic and diastolic BP within 45 of oral administration. The seed extract of jamun has been found to lower blood pressure by about 34.6 per cent.

Vitamin C and iron in jamun helps your body to make more haemoglobin and prevent anemia.

By helping you control your BP due to its potassium content, jamun helps you prevent heart disease and stroke. Moreover, the antioxidants that it contains prevent free radical damage of the arterial walls that causes blood clots and related heart disease.

Since ages, the jaumun plant has been used for treating bacterial infections. It contains compounds like malic acid, gallic acid, oxalic acid and tannins which gives the fruit pharmacological properties like being antimalarial, antibacterial and gastroprotective.

Some preclinical studies have suggested that jamun is chemopreventive in nature. Scientists have found that the phytonutrient chemicals in jamun can inhibit growth of breast cancer cells without affecting normal cell growth.

According to a study by Jagetia GC and colleagues the fruit extract has radioprotective properties as well. The study demonstrated that jamun extract inhibited radiation induced generation of free radicals that can cause cancer.