Men’s Health Week takes place this week (9th June to 15th June 2025). To mark it, the California Prune Board is shining a spotlight on the important role just a handful of prunes a day can play in improving men’s health.
Prunes contain a range of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fibre, and the scientific evidence of their nutritional power continues to build with ongoing research from leading universities. To date, more than 70 studies have uncovered the positive effect prunes can have on the body, including gut, bone, and cardiovascular health.
California Prune Board Registered Dietitian, Dr. Annamaria Acquaviva, explains: “Men’s Health Week focuses on prevention and awareness. We want to use it as an opportunity to encourage men to look at their diet and consider the benefits that simple yet powerful foods like prunes can have on overall health.”
High in fibre and vitamin K, California Prunes are also a source of nutrients like vitamin B6, manganese, potassium, and copper, which contribute to normal bowel function and the maintenance of normal bones. As the first natural food to have been awarded ‘Bone Health Approved’ status by leading UK charity, the Royal Osteoporosis Society, prunes are a versatile and tasty way to improve skeletal health, with a 2021 study pointing to the promising effect prunes can have on men’s bone health.
The research from San Diego State University’s School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences showed that eating prunes daily has a protective effect on bone health over 50. The study was the first of its kind to examine the beneficial prune effect of bones in men. In this randomised-controlled clinical study, 57 healthy men aged 50-79 years old were assigned to either consume 100 grams of prunes every day or no prunes for twelve months. At the conclusion of one year, the prune consumers showed significant decreases in biomarkers of bone breakdown, while no 
changes were observed in the control group. The study authors also reported the men who ate prunes showed improvements in bone geometry, indicating greater bone strength.
Meanwhile, with heart disease one of the leading causes of death for men in the UK and Europe, the CPB highlighted a 2023 research abstract presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual conference linking prunes and cardiovascular health. The report shows how, in a small group of older men, long-term prune consumption improved HDL (good) cholesterol and the total cholesterol to HDL ratio, while decreasing oxidative stress and the inflammatory biomarker C-reactive protein.
Dr Acquaviva adds: “California Prunes are heroes for bone, gut and health. They are also extremely versatile as a snack and a sweet and savoury ingredient, with the added benefit of being fat and saturated-fat-free and containing only naturally occurring sugars.”
