Do Fig Trees Flower? Pregnant Women Can Eat Them, and How Many to Eat a Day and How to Eat Them Matters

Fig, also known as Ari, Ayi, Yingri fruit, You Tanbo, honey fruit, Wenxian fruit and milk sap, is a fruit used both as medicine and food, and is grown in Shandong, Xinjiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan and other parts of China. So do fig trees flower? How do you eat them? Can pregnant women eat them?

Do fig trees flower?

Plants flowering and bearing fruit is a law of nature, so figs do flower too. The flowers of the fig form in the early stage of the fig's development; the thread-like structures inside the young fruit are the flowers. Because the fig's flowers are wrapped inside the young fruit and cannot be seen, many people think that figs do not flower, and for this reason the fig is also called the hidden flower fruit.

The small flowers of the fig are pale red and have no petals; the upper part is male flowers and the lower part is female flowers. The male flowers produce pollen, which pollinates the female flowers, and after the female flowers are pollinated they produce tiny seeds. The fig also has a kind of flower called a gall flower, which contains eggs laid by parasitic wasps. As the inflorescence of the young fruit grows, the eggs also hatch into small parasitic wasps that crawl out. They wind around inside the flower, and with pollen grains stuck to their bodies, they fly out through the small opening at the top of the fig and then fly into another fig. In this way, they help pollinate the fig, and after the female flowers are pollinated, they themselves produce seeds.

The fig we usually eat is not actually the fruit, but the enlarged, fleshy receptacle. Because the seeds are small and soft, they are often not noticeable when eaten raw.

How do you eat fresh figs?

1. Eat them fresh directly

The edible rate of figs is very high; the edible portion of fresh figs reaches 97%, and the flesh is sweet as honey and refreshing. Wash a fully ripe fig with clean water, peel off the outer skin, and you can directly eat the purplish-red flesh inside; or after washing it clean, break it open and directly eat the flesh inside.

2. Fig rock sugar water

[Ingredients] Fresh figs and rock sugar, appropriate amount of each

[Method]

1. Choose fresh figs that are not too ripe, wash them and remove the outer skin; break the fresh figs open from the stem end;

2. Put the broken-open fresh figs together with the juice that flows out into a bowl, add an appropriate amount of rock sugar and clean water, and steam until cooked.

[Benefits] Has a very good effect on treating dry throat, hoarseness, cough and pharyngitis caused by lung heat

3. Lily and fig soup

[Ingredients] 5 fresh figs, 1 apple, 4 flat peaches, 24 grams of lily

[Method]

1. Wash the fresh figs, apple and flat peaches and cut them into small pieces; wash the lily;

2. Put all the ingredients into a pot, add an appropriate amount of clean water, bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to low heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

[Benefits] Clears heat and moistens dryness, beautifies and nourishes the skin

4. Fig porridge

[Ingredients] 3 fresh figs, 50 grams of japonica rice, appropriate amount of rock sugar

[Method]

1. After washing the japonica rice, put it into a pot, add water and cook until 80% done;

2. Add the fresh figs with the outer skin removed, and after cooking add an appropriate amount of rock sugar to season.

[Benefits] Tonifies the spleen and benefits the stomach, moistens the lungs and soothes the throat, moistens the intestines and promotes bowel movements

How do you eat fresh figs? Besides generally eating them fresh directly, there are many ways to eat figs; they can be made into sweet soup, soup or porridge, and in addition they can also be made into fig pie.

How do you eat dried figs?

1. Make porridge

Prepare a few dried figs, wash them and slice them, then add an appropriate amount of glutinous rice. Boil them into porridge. It can promote digestion and care for the stomach and intestines.

2. Make soup

Prepare a small amount of cooked meat and cut it into shreds, then put it into a pot together with dried figs and cook. When taking it off the heat, sprinkle an appropriate amount of salt. This kind of soup can effectively treat chronic enteritis and has a good effect in regulating the stomach and intestines.

3. Make a cold dish

Mix dried figs with washed watermelon rind (cut into shreds) into a cold dish; it is refreshing and crisp with a unique taste.

4. Fig stewed pear

Figs can be eaten raw as fresh fruit or made into dried fruit. They have the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying and reducing swelling, and of strengthening the stomach, moistening the intestines and clearing toxins, and they also have a certain effect on treating sore throat. In addition, it is said that figs contain an anti-cancer element that can effectively prevent early-stage cancer. Today we use fresh pears and dried figs to make a dessert, which both nourishes yin and beautifies the skin and also protects the voice.

5. Corn and fig soup

Lily has the effects of moistening the lungs, relieving cough, cooling and reducing fever. Besides being used medicinally, when eaten in soup it is highly nourishing and is very suitable for people with yin deficiency and internal heat. The vitamins in figs can accelerate the body's metabolism and make the internal organs healthier. This soup is most suitable for young people whose lives lack regularity.

How many dried figs is it good to eat in a day?

Figs are cool in nature; eat 3-4 fresh ones, and dried ones can be increased a little, but not by much.

The benefits and effects of eating figs

1. Promotes appetite

Fresh figs contain a variety of organic acids and enzyme substances that can help promote food digestion, eliminate accumulated food and increase appetite.

2. Prevents cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases

Figs are rich in a variety of enzyme substances such as lipase, hydrolase and protease. They can promote the decomposition and digestion of fat and protein, prevent fat deposition in the blood, and also relax blood vessels, thereby lowering blood pressure and blood lipids and preventing cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and arteriosclerosis.

3. Eliminates fatigue

Figs are rich in nutrients, containing a variety of amino acids, vitamins, sugars, lipids, cellulose, protein and trace elements. They can promptly supplement the nutrients the body needs, eliminate fatigue and improve physical stamina.

4. Promotes bowel movements and aids weight loss

The dietary fiber and pectin in figs can stimulate the movement of the gastrointestinal wall, promote metabolism, speed up the excretion of waste from the body, purify the intestines and prevent retained stool; at the same time, figs are extremely low in calories, which helps with weight loss and slimming.

5. Detoxifies and protects the lungs

Figs contain a variety of vitamins, trace elements and cellulose. They can promote the excretion of harmful residues in the intestines, avoid skin problems such as acne, dull skin and enlarged pores caused by the accumulation of toxins, and make the skin smooth and clear.

6. Prevents cancer

Research has found that figs contain anti-cancer active substances such as benzaldehyde, steroids and coumarins, which have an inhibitory effect on 13 kinds of cancer cells that cause cancers such as throat cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer and cardia cancer.

Can pregnant women eat figs?

Yes, they can.

What are the benefits of pregnant women eating figs?

1. The nutritional value of figs

Whether fresh or dried, the fruit of the fig is delicious and tasty. It is rich in nutritional components such as a variety of amino acids, organic acids, magnesium, manganese, copper, zinc, boron and vitamins. It is not only a fruit with high nutritional value, but also a good medicine. It is sweet in nature and sour and neutral in flavor, and has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, stopping diarrhea and promoting lactation, with especially notable effects on hemorrhoids with bloody stool, diarrhea due to spleen deficiency, sore throat and dry/scanty milk.

2. Prevents constipation

Figs contain a variety of essential amino acids, organic acids, pectin, trace elements such as magnesium, manganese, copper, zinc, calcium and boron, and nutritional components such as vitamins. Figs can promote digestion, moisten the intestines and promote bowel movements, and also have various effects such as lowering blood lipids and blood pressure. For pregnant women they are an excellent food for supplementing calcium and preventing constipation.

3. Treats hemorrhoids and promotes lactation

Pregnant women are most prone to hemorrhoids. To prevent hemorrhoids, you must keep bowel movements smooth, pay attention to drinking water, and develop the habit of defecating at regular times. At the same time, pregnant women should often eat an appropriate amount of figs. This is because figs not only have rich nutritional components, but can also treat hemorrhoids and promote lactation.

4. Not recommended as a single source of nourishment

Fruits are sweet and tasty, nutritious and convenient to eat, and are suitable for pregnant women to eat daily. However, the nutritional components contained in fruits cannot replace vegetables. The main nutritional components of both fruits and vegetables are carbohydrates, as well as different qualities and quantities of vitamins, inorganic salts, cellulose, various enzymes and certain special nutrients.