When people think about prunes, the image typically is not too positive. Let’s leave it at that.
On the other hand, I think about my late grandmother’s little prune cakes, made with a Hungarian recipe that no one in the family managed to inherit. I can still taste those cookie-cakes more than 30 years later. Every time I eat one of the organic pitted prunes we keep in the refrigerator, I am hoping to recall at least some of the delicious taste.
More Top Picks Best Pyrography Pens
Our toddler son, Arthur, loves prunes. He would eat the whole can if we allowed it, which, of course, we don’t for reasons that do not require explaining.
It turns out Artie and I are eating what researchers consider the fruit most potent in antioxidant vitamins and related substances that protect against heart disease, cancer, eye disorders and the effects of aging. Antioxidants work by neutralizing destructive, unstable cells known as free radicals.
Tufts University researchers developed a scoring system for the antioxidant values that ranks prunes highest, twice as much, in fact, as the next contenders, blueberries, raisins and blackberries. What’s more, prunes have three to four times more antioxidants than top vegetables such as kale, spinach and Brussels sprouts.
The California Prune Board is quick to point out other studies that show eating 12 prunes a day decreased total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (the “bad” stuff that clogs arteries) in men with elevated blood cholesterol levels. Three medium prunes are considered a serving and probably about the most people see themselves consuming in any given day, high cholesterol or not.
Not surprisingly, the California Prune Board (70 percent of the world’s prune supply is grown in California) has long struggled with an image problem for its product, which, let’s face it, is most widely associated with trips to the bathroom. The prune marketers have been working hard to spread the word about antioxidant value and even the fact that prunes can enhance brain function, but somehow sales of prunes and prune juice (the whole fruit is tolerated better by most people) are not where producers would like. The target audience most desired, women 35 to 50, just isn’t buying.
So the prune group petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow producers and packagers to call the food “dried plums.” In surveys, 90 percent of Americans said they would prefer to eat “dried plums” compared with “prunes” even though they are one in the same.
“People have told us that dried plums evoke a more positive `fresh fruit goodness’ image,” says Richard L. Peterson, executive director of the California Prune Board.
For two years, both names (dried plums and prunes) will appear on packaging. The second phase will complete the transition to dried plums as the only name on the packaging.
By then, we certainly hope to convince Artie we haven’t eliminated one of his favorite snack foods from the family menu. And who knows, maybe calling them dried plums will keep his pals and even some grownups from wincing.
The success of the name change figures to be worth watching for other purveyors of nutrition and fitness, although it is far from unprecedented. The now popular kiwi fruit, also high in antioxidants, was previously called a Chinese gooseberry.
Other examples come to mind. Many people like to say they are going to “work out” rather than “exercise.” It’s hard to imagine spinning classes would be as hip and well attended if they were called “stationary bike aerobics.” Even jogging can sound less intimidating than running.
Somehow, once dreaded sit-ups have revived as “crunches.” The nearly forgotten push-up apparently needs better marketing. Same for the squat and lunge, which many personal trainers consider the best exercises to improve sports performance and not as dangerous as they are reputed to be.
At the dining table, “tofu” and “seitan” seem more appetizing than “texturized soy” but are nonetheless still a hard sell for many consumers. Soy milk sounds more wholesome than soy beverage. And, keeping to an all-soy paragraph, endame seems like a lot more fun snack than calling them salted, boiled soybeans in the pod.
I might also suggest “swimming” be called “flowing” to call attention to its great potential for feeling calm after a half-hour of gliding through water in the least crowded part of the health club.
“Connection tennis” might create some new net profits for that sport; a psychic once told me playing tennis would help me feel more grounded and connected to my fellow human beings. I took up tennis seriously for a while after her suggestion and found it to do just that, at least until I had to start serving the ball in play during matches.
Personally, I don’t think enough exercise and nutrition professionals have embraced the term “wellness.” It seems more inviting and less demanding than “fitness” but no less an appealing health goal. We all want to feel well.