Eating fresh Fig is very good for health.It gives lots of natural benefits.It has very good nutritional value and various medicinal properities.

Description of Fig tree :-

Growth Habit: The fig is a picturesque deciduous tree, to 50 ft tall, but more typically to a height of 10 - 30 ft. Their branches are muscular and twisting, spreading wider than they are tall. Fig wood is weak and decays rapidly. The trunk often bears large nodal tumors, where branches have been shed or removed. The twigs are terete and pithy rather than woody. The sap contains copious milky latex that is irritating to human skin. Fig trees often grow as a multiple-branched shrub, especially where subjected to frequent frost damage. They may be espaliered, but only where roots may be restricted, as in containers.

Foliage: Fig leaves are bright green, single, alternate and large . They are more or less deeply lobed with 1 - 5 sinuses, rough hairy on the upper surface and soft hairy on the underside. In summer their foliage lends a beautiful tropical feeling.

Flowers: The tiny flowers of the fig are out of sight, clustered inside the green “fruits”, technically a synconium. Pollinating insects gain access to the flowers through an opening at the apex of the synconium. In the case of the common fig the flowers are all female and need no pollination. There are 3 other types, the caprifig which has male and female flowers requiring visits by a tiny wasp, Blastophaga grossorum; the Smyrna fig, needing cross-pollination by caprifigs in order to develop normally; and the San Pedro fig which is intermediate, its first crop independent like the common fig, its second crop dependent on pollination.

Fruits: The common fig bears a first crop, called the breba crop, in the spring on last season’s growth. The second crop is borne in the fall on the new growth and is known as the main crop. In cold climates the breba crop is often destroyed by spring frosts. The matured “fruit” has a tough peel (pure green, green suffused with brown, brown or purple), often cracking upon ripeness, and exposing the pulp beneath. The interior is a white inner rind containing a seed mass bound with jelly-like flesh. The edible seeds are numerous and generally hollow, unless pollinated. Pollinated seeds provide the characteristic nutty taste of dried figs.

Food value: An analysis of the fresh fig shows it consists good amount of moisture and little protein, fat and carbohydrate. The dry fig has a high nutritive value. Its most important food element is sugar which forms 51 to 74 per cent of the whole fruit. It can be taken n various ways, either by itself or in combination with other foodstuffs enrich their food value. When taken with white flour, it removes much of its constipating effect. It combines very well with milk. Figs are often used for preparing cakes and jams. They are also made into pudding.

Natural benefits & curative Properities:-

Many medicinal virtues have been ascribed to the fig. It is considered a restorative food which helps in quick recovery after prolonged illness. It removes physical and mental exertion and endows the body with renewed vigour and strength. It is an excellent tonic for the weak people who suffer cracks in lips, tongue and mouth.

For healing or curing any kind of CONSTIPATION : Taken either fresh or dried, the fig is regarded as a dependable laxative on account of its large cellulose content and its tough skin. The tiny seeds in the fruit possess the property of stimulating peristaltic or wave like movements of intestines which facilitates easy evacuation of faeces and keeps the alimentary canal clean.

Figs in treating , to cure or to heal or to prevent Piles :Owing to its laxative property, the fig is an excellent remedy for piles. Two or three dried figs should be soaked in cold water in a glass of enamelware in the night after cleaning them thoroughly with hot water. They should be taken next morning. Figs should be taken similarly in the evening. This will remove straining at stools and thus prevent the protrusion of the anus. The piles will be cured with regular use of figs in this manner for three or four weeks.

Figs in treating , to cure or to heal or to prevent Sexual Weakness :Figs can be beneficially used in the treatment of sexual debility. They can be supplemented by other dry fruits like almonds and dry dates along with butter. Their use has proved effective in such cases .

Figs in treating , to cure or to heal or to prevent Corns :For corns of long duration, the milky juice of green figs helps to soften them. The milk has a mild necrotic action.

Click to learn more about Indian Fig   and  Common Fig…….(1)…(2).…(3)

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