PUDDING POWER

It can prevent tumours and heart disease, ward off winter bugs and even help you live longer. Why a portion of pud is a most unlikely health food

Suet

WITH around 350 calories per portion, Christmas pudding could never be called slimline. Yet as far as desserts go, a serving of this delicious festive tradition is actually healthier than most.

So for those seasonal killjoys who would like to see Christmas pud removed from the yuletide menu, here’s why it should take pride of place at your dinner table (and even why the brandy cream might not be as bad for you as you thought!).

Dried fruit

A QUARTER serving of a onepound (454g) pudding will generally supply enough dried fruit to count as one of your daily fruit portions. Add that to your breakfast Bucks Fizz, plus the sprouts, carrots and parsnips you have with your main course, and you’ve reached your recommended fiveaday fruit and vegetable total without even trying.

Dried fruit is also a concentrated source of antioxidants that may help protect against heart disease and cancer, and is a good source of copper.

Copper plays an important role in the development of red blood cells and in the formation of elastin and collagen — essential connective proteins that help keep skin and blood vessels strong.

With an equal split between sultanas, raisins and currants, the dried fruit in a portion of Christmas pudding will also supply 5 per cent of your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of iron — more if the amount of raisins is higher.

Sugar

IN MOST Christmas puddings, there is twice as much naturallyoccurring sugar ( from the dried fruit) than sugar that’s added.

Though fruit- derived sugar isn’t any better for your waistline or teeth, it’s higher content of slowreleasing fructose makes Christmas pudding a lower glycaemic index ( GI) choice than many other desserts and sugary foods. This means it has a less erratic effect on your blood sugar and energy levels than, say, sherry trifle or chocolate log.

It is also better for diabetics, though anyone with diabetes should still stick to a small portion.

Almonds and walnuts

THESE are the traditional nuts found in Christmas pudding, and in a moderately nutty pud they will provide at least five per cent of the recommended daily amount (RDA) of vitamin E — an antioxidant that protects against cell- damaging oxidation that contributes to degenerative disease.

The presence of nuts also contributes to lowering the glycaemic index of Christmas pudding so it produces smoother, healthier changes in your blood sugar levels. THOUGH traditional animal suet ( beef fat) is high in cholesterolraising saturates, the amount that goes into an average Christmas pudding is small enough not to be a significant health issue. A serving of Christmas pudding provides no more than a third of a woman’s daily saturated fat limit — compared with about 50 per cent in the same sized portion of cheesecake, and all your daily limit in a portion of creme brulée.

Vegetable suet made with hydrogenated vegetable fat is only a little lower in saturated fats and also contains trans fats which are just as bad for the heart, or possibly worse.

Grated carrot

CARROT adds moistness to Christmas pudding, and is a great source of source of beta carotene, which mops up cell- damaging free radicals.

Beta carotene can also be converted by the body into vitamin A, which is essential for the health of skin, eyes and the mucous passages, which protect the respiratory tract from attack by bugs and viruses.

Though there won’t be more than a fraction of one carrot in an average portion of Christmas pudding, that’s still up to 10 per cent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin A.

Orange zest

ORANGE pith and peel contain health-promoting flavonoids and terpenes, which appear to have a protective effect against the cell changes that can lead to cancer. A particular class of flavonoids called polymethoxylated flavones ( PMFs) have the potential to lower cholesterol, according to a study by American and Canadian researchers which was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2004.

Armagnac, ale or rum

WHICHEVER tipple you add to your Christmas pudding, you don’t need to to worry about it making you tipsy.

During the cooking process, the alcohol is driven off, leaving flavour without inebriating qualities. If you pour more over before serving, fully burning it off reduces the calorie load.

Cinnamon and cloves

THOUGH neither is found in therapeutic quantities in Christmas pudding, the subtle lift in taste that these two traditional spices give means there’s never any need for artificial flavourings.

In larger quantities, cinnamon is credited with relieving stomach upsets and easing cold and flu symptoms.

There’s also scientific interest in the potential benefit of the spice in treating diabetes. A study reported in the journal Diabetes Care found that people with Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes given at least 1g of cinnamon daily showed lowered blood glucose and blood fats.

Brandy Butter

THERE’S no denying this is a fattening addition to your pudding. But it’s a nonsense that it’s less healthy than plain cream — in fact, the opposite is true.

While a level tablespoon of extra-thick cream contains 9g of cholesterol-raising saturated fat, a rounded tablespoon of thick brandy cream contains about 7.5g.

So you can afford to relax when you tuck in this Christmas Day.