If you are like me, you probably don’t eat figs very often. They are just not one of those items that are readily available or talked about very much. I like dried figs okay, but when I do eat them, I try to buy organic figs because commercially grown figs are usually treated with sulfur dioxide gas. This helps preserve them, but I prefer to eat foods that are not chemically treated if at all possible. It is estimated that one out of every 100 people have a sensitivity to sulfite and have adverse reactions when ingesting it. Sulfite reactions may be particularly harmful for people who suffer from asthma. Organic figs are not treated with sulfite.
A few years ago I met a local resident who has a really big fig tree that has been growing for years. She had so many figs growing on it she couldn’t give them away fast enough. That is when I fell in love with fresh figs. They are simply wonderful. They are very sweet and somewhat chewy. I couldn’t get enough of them. Figs have many benefits, including being high in potassium which helps to control blood pressure, figs are high in calcium which helps prevent bone loss, they are high in fiber which can help reduce the risk of colon, breast and prostate cancer and figs may help prevent macular degeneration. The fig leaf, which I have never eaten, can help lower levels of triglycerides and fig leaves have antidiabetic properties which may help reduce the amount of insulin needed by people with diabetes who take insulin. The link below has a wealth of information on dried and fresh figs and how to eat them. Also, see the link below for a fig quesadilla…