Nature's Most Nearly Perfect Fruit, The Fig

One of the oldest fruits known to humans, the fig is described as "nature's most nearly perfect fruit" by the California Fig Advisory Board.

The fig is believed to be as old as human kind. The fig tree is native to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Fig fruit has been a typical component in the health-benefiting Mediterranean diet for millennia. The legend of Cleopatra, mentioned figs as her most desired and chesired fruit and Spartan athletes in ancient Greece were said to eat figs in order to improve their performance. Read on to learn about of the figs health and nutrition benefits.

WHAT'S IN A FIG?

Health benefits of figs can be attributed to the presence of minerals and vitamins in them. Figs have the highest overall mineral content of all common fruits. Figs contain vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, calcium, iron, phosphorus, manganese, sodium, potassium, chlorine, flavonoids and a digestive enzyme called ficin. A 100 gram serving of dried figs supplies sixteen percent of the recommended daily iron requirement – a mineral that’s important for building healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Forty grams of figs contains 244 mg of potassium (7% of the daily requirement), 53 mg of calcium (6% of the daily requirement) and 1.2 mg of iron (6% of the daily requirement). The calcium level in figs is very high: A crate of dried figs provides the same level of calcium as a crate of milk.

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