A fig is not a fruit in the usual sense. It is a hollow shell of flesh with hundreds of tiny flowers lining the inside, closed off except for a small opening at the tip, and the faint crunch you feel comes from the tiny seeds that develop from those flowers.
Figs also have a famous partner. Wild figs are pollinated by a tiny wasp, Blastophaga psenes, that squeezes in through that opening, and scientists treat the fig and its wasps as a model case of two species that depend on each other. Many cultivated figs skip the wasp. Common types such as Black Mission and Brown Turkey set fruit without pollination, and they made up 78% of the 607 cultivars described in one monograph. Smyrna types such as Calimyrna need the wasp, and there the female dies inside the fig. Wikipedia notes that the fruit then holds digested insect matter, which is why some strict vegans avoid them.
Wasps also carry a fungus that rots figs from the inside, and that is a major reason California growers moved away from varieties that need pollination. This page covers fresh figs, which have 74 kcal and 2.9 g of fiber per 100 g (2 medium figs). Dried figs are a different food, at about 249 kcal per 100 g, because most of the water is gone. Fresh figs are fragile, and 94% of California’s fig crop is dried or processed. Each study card below says whether it tested paste, extract, dried fruit or figs.
Health benefits of figs
The top findings from 12 studies, strongest evidence first
What the stars mean
- Strong. Several randomized trials, pooled in a meta-analysis, point the same way, or regulators (FDA or EFSA) have approved the claim.
- Moderate. Good randomized trials support it, but there are fewer of them, or their results vary.
- Limited. Small, short or single trials, or mixed results. Promising, but it needs confirmation.
Population and lab studies get no stars: they show a link or a mechanism, not proof.
How we rate evidence →- ★Less constipation in two trialsFig paste for 8 weeks improved stool type and shortened colon transit time in adults with functional constipation. In irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, figs for 4 months eased hard stools and bloating.
- ★Smaller blood sugar rise with a fig extractA fig fruit extract added to a glucose drink cut the blood sugar response by 24 to 25% at the two higher doses. This was a concentrated extract, not whole figs, tested in 10 healthy adults.
- ★Higher blood antioxidant capacity for 4 hoursIn 10 healthy adults, 40 g of figs raised blood antioxidant capacity for 4 hours. That is a lab marker, not proof of a health benefit.
- ★No LDL improvement from mixed dried fruitAdults with extra weight who ate 3/4 cup of mixed dried fruit daily for 4 weeks did not improve LDL or other heart risk markers. Figs were one of four fruits, so it does not test figs alone.
All 12 studies, strongest evidence first
A review of food trials for chronic constipation found only one trial of figs among 23 studies
Systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 randomized and 6 uncontrolled trials (1,714 people) of foods, drinks and diets in adults. Kiwifruit had the most trials (7), and fruit in general raised stool frequency more than psyllium, but the abstract reports no separate fig result. The authors call the evidence scarce and ask for more trials.
Fig paste taken for 8 weeks shortened colon transit time and improved stool type in adults with functional constipation, compared with placebo
Double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Korean adults, with 40 people on fig paste and 40 on placebo. Abdominal discomfort also improved, and blood tests showed no sign of harm. The abstract gives no effect sizes, and it was a single trial of a paste, not fresh figs.
Eating figs for 4 months improved symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, but not pain severity
Randomized single-blind trial in 150 people, split into three groups: figs, flixweed (an herbal seed) or their usual diet. Hard stools, bloating and bowel frequency improved on figs, while pain severity and blood CRP did not change. The abstract does not say whether the figs were fresh or dried, and the comparison group got no treatment.
In a meta-analysis of fruit trials for constipation, kiwifruit scored better than fig paste on the Bristol stool scale
Meta-analysis of 11 randomized and crossover studies of fruit and functional constipation. Three high-quality studies found kiwifruit 0.39 points better than fig paste. Fig paste was a comparison arm, so this does not show whether figs work. The authors say larger studies are needed.
40 g of figs raised blood antioxidant capacity for 4 hours in 10 healthy adults
Small human test inside a paper on dried fruits. Fasting volunteers ate figs with or without a soda, and antioxidant capacity was tracked for six hours. Figs also offset the oxidative stress of the soda, which was sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. The abstract does not say whether these figs were dried, and a higher antioxidant reading is a lab marker, not proof of a health benefit.
A fig fruit extract added to a glucose drink cut the blood sugar response by 24 to 25% at the two higher doses in 10 healthy adults
Randomized, double-blind crossover trial of two fig extracts, standardized for abscisic acid, so this is a concentrated extract and not whole figs. Insulin response fell 14 to 24%. The two lower doses cut blood sugar by about 14%, which was not significant. Some authors work for the company that made the extracts, and it funded the trial.
Eating 3/4 cup a day of mixed dried fruit, figs among them, for 4 weeks did not improve LDL cholesterol or other heart risk markers
Randomized crossover trial in 55 adults with extra weight and at least one more heart disease risk factor, comparing dried plums, figs, dates and raisins with a snack matched for energy and carbohydrate. LDL was 0.10 mmol/L higher than at baseline, and fasting glucose was 0.08 mmol/L higher than on the snack. Figs were one of four fruits, so it does not test figs alone.
Fig paste given to constipated rats for 4 weeks increased stool number, weight and water content
Animal study. Rats were made constipated with a drug and given fig paste at 1, 6 or 30 g/kg. The thickness of the lower colon wall and its mucus-making areas also grew with the dose. Results in rats do not predict the same effect in people.
Fig paste given for 3 weeks reduced colon transit time and raised stool weight in constipated beagles
Animal study. Fifteen beagles were made constipated with a high-protein diet and limited movement, then given 12 g/kg of fig paste a day by tube. Feed intake, water intake, body weight and blood tests did not change. It is a dog model, not a human trial.
A polysaccharide from fig fruit protected mice from chemically induced colitis
Mice given 150 to 300 mg per kg of body weight for 5 weeks kept longer colons, had less gut inflammation and made more short-chain fatty acids, and their gut bacteria shifted. It tested one isolated fig compound, not whole figs, in mice.
A fig fruit extract lowered total and LDL cholesterol in rats fed a high-fat diet
Animal study of an extract of Tunisian figs, which also raised HDL cholesterol and antioxidant enzymes in liver, heart and kidney. The authors identified 28 phenolic compounds in the extract. It is not a test of eating figs.
Darker fig varieties had more polyphenols and antioxidant capacity, mostly in the skin
Lab analysis of six commercial varieties (black, red, yellow and green). The dark Mission variety had the highest levels, and cyanidin-3-rhamnoglucoside was the main anthocyanin. Measurements in a test tube say little about what the body does with these compounds.
Who should be careful with figs
Most people can eat figs freely. Take a little care if one of these applies:
- Birch pollen or latex allergy. Fig contains a protein related to the main birch pollen allergen. Among 85 people with birch pollen allergy, 78% had a positive skin test to fresh fig and 10% to dried fig, and dried figs were mostly well tolerated. Fig allergy has also been described in people allergic to rubber latex.
- Irritable bowel syndrome. Monash University lists figs and dried fruit among the fruits high in FODMAPs because of excess fructose, which can trigger symptoms in some people.
- Fig sap on the skin. The tree’s latex irritates skin, and sap or leaves plus sunlight can cause painful blistering called phytophotodermatitis. This is a concern when pruning or picking, not when eating the fruit.
How to choose, store and eat figs
- Fresh: 74 kcal, 2.9 g of fiber and 16.3 g of sugars per 100 g, with copper (8% of the daily value) and potassium (5%) the highest minerals.
- Dried: about 249 kcal per 100 g, more than three times the energy of fresh by weight. In a 4-week trial, 3/4 cup a day of mixed dried fruit with figs raised fasting glucose by 0.08 mmol/L over a snack.
- Paste and extracts: the constipation and blood sugar trials used fig paste or concentrated extracts, so their results do not carry straight over to a fresh fig.
Commercial growers pick fresh figs almost fully ripe and firm, because ripe figs are soft, bruise easily and spoil fast. Choose unbroken figs that yield slightly to pressure and keep them cold. Even in commercial cold storage near 0°C (32°F), fresh figs last only 1 to 2 weeks, so eat them soon.
Sources
- Hemmer W, Focke M, Marzban G, et al. Identification of Bet v 1-related allergens in fig and other Moraceae fruits. Clin Exp Allergy. 2010.
- Where FODMAPs are found in foods. Monash University FODMAP.
- Barker CS, McGovern TW, Elston DM. Botanical Briefs: fig phytophotodermatitis (Ficus carica). Cutis. 2024.
- Stover E, Aradhya M, Ferguson L, Crisosto CH. The fig: overview of an ancient fruit. HortScience. 2007.
- Figs: postharvest quality maintenance guidelines. Crisosto CH, Kader AA. University of California, Davis.
- Sullivan VK, Petersen KS, Kris-Etherton PM. Dried fruit consumption and cardiometabolic health: a randomised crossover trial. Br J Nutr. 2020.
- Ficus carica. Wikipedia (dried fig energy, from USDA data).
History of figs
Figs may be among the first plants people grew. At Gilgal I, an early Neolithic village in the Lower Jordan Valley, archaeologists found nine carbonized figs and hundreds of tiny fruitlets dated to 11,400 to 11,200 years ago. The authors argue that they came from parthenocarpic trees, meaning trees that set fruit without pollination, grown from planted branches. If so, fig trees came about a thousand years before cereals were domesticated.
Wild figs grow across the Middle East and Mediterranean, and cultivated figs became established across the Mediterranean region about 6,000 years ago, reaching England by 500 CE. Fig varieties were named as early as the fourth century BCE, and Pliny the Elder listed 29 of them in the first century CE. He also made 111 observations on the fig, claiming that it invigorates the young and that fig milk mixed with axle grease removes warts.
Spanish missionaries led by Junípero Serra brought figs to California in 1769, which gave the Mission fig its name. G. P. Rixford brought true Smyrna figs there in 1880, and the Turkish fig Lob Injir became known in California as Calimyrna. A 2007 review put California’s share of the US crop at 98%.
Turkey grows the most figs today, about 28% of the world’s 1.34 million tonnes in 2024, followed by Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. Fresh figs travel poorly, which is why most fig exports are dried.
Sources
- Kislev ME, Hartmann A, Bar-Yosef O. Early domesticated fig in the Jordan Valley. Science. 2006.
- Stover E, Aradhya M, Ferguson L, Crisosto CH. The fig: overview of an ancient fruit. HortScience. 2007.
- Weiblen GD. How to be a fig wasp. Annu Rev Entomol. 2002.
- Ficus carica. Wikipedia.
Frequently asked questions about figs
Are figs good for you?
For most people, yes, though the evidence on figs is thin. Fresh figs have 74 kcal, 2.9 g of fiber and only small amounts of vitamins and minerals per 100 g, with copper highest at 8% of the daily value. In human trials, fig paste shortened colon transit time in constipation, while mixed dried fruit with figs did not improve LDL cholesterol. No fig finding here is better than limited evidence.
Do figs have dead wasps in them?
Only some do. Common types such as Black Mission and Brown Turkey need no pollination and no wasp. Smyrna types such as Calimyrna are pollinated by a wasp that dies inside, and Wikipedia notes the fruit then holds digested insect matter, so some strict vegans avoid them. Growers aim for only one wasp to enter each fig.
Are figs good for constipation?
Possibly, but the evidence is limited. In a trial with 40 people on fig paste and 40 on placebo, 8 weeks of paste shortened colon transit time and improved stool type. In 150 people with constipation-type irritable bowel syndrome, figs for 4 months improved hard stools and bowel frequency. A meta-analysis scored kiwifruit better than fig paste, and a review of food trials found only one fig trial.
How many figs should you eat a day?
No study sets an ideal amount. Trials used 40 g of figs in a single antioxidant test and 3/4 cup a day of mixed dried fruit for 4 weeks, which did not help heart risk markers. The registry entry for the irritable bowel trial lists 90 g of fig a day for 4 months. Dried figs carry more than three times the energy of fresh by weight, so a smaller portion goes further.
Are dried figs healthier than fresh figs?
Neither is shown to be healthier, because they are different foods. Dried figs have about 249 kcal per 100 g against 74 kcal for fresh. In one lab comparison, drying lowered the phenols in fruit on a dry weight basis. For allergy, dried figs were mostly well tolerated by people with birch pollen allergy, while fresh figs often caused symptoms.
Are figs good for people with diabetes?
They can fit, but there is little evidence. A fig fruit extract cut the blood sugar response to a glucose drink by about 25% in 10 healthy adults, though an extract is not a fig. In another trial, 3/4 cup a day of mixed dried fruit with figs raised fasting glucose by 0.08 mmol/L over a snack. Fresh figs have 16.3 g of sugars per 100 g, so check portions with your care team.
How many calories are in a fig?
Two medium fresh figs (100 g) have 74 kcal, and one large fig has 47 kcal. That comes with 19.2 g of carbohydrate, 2.9 g of fiber, 0.8 g of protein and 0.3 g of fat per 100 g. Dried figs have about 249 kcal per 100 g.