Figs may be among the very first fruits ever domesticated by humans — archaeological evidence from the Jordan Valley suggests fig cultivation predates that of wheat, barley, and legumes by roughly a thousand years, making it a genuine candidate for humanity's original cultivated crop. Figs held deep cultural and religious significance across the ancient world, referenced repeatedly in the Bible, in ancient Greek and Roman texts, and across the broader Mediterranean and Middle Eastern culinary traditions.
Figs' traditional reputation for supporting digestion is one of its most consistent uses across cultures and centuries, owing to their genuinely high fiber content — a traditional claim that modern research has tested with real, if mixed, results.
Fig has real positive trial evidence for one specific use: constipation, particularly in irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). A trial of 150 people with IBS-C found significant relief in pain, bloating, and constipation among those consuming about four dried figs twice daily. However, this positive picture is complicated by a systematic review and meta-analysis of fruits for constipation, which found that fig paste performed significantly worse than kiwifruit specifically, and several individual trials found figs did not significantly affect constipation symptoms at all.
For cholesterol, the evidence is more clearly disappointing: a 2023 clinical trial giving participants 120 grams of dried figs daily for five weeks found no significant reduction in LDL cholesterol. A widely used consumer drug reference source states plainly that despite popular use for constipation, diabetes, and other conditions, "there is no good scientific evidence" to support these uses. Given real but inconsistent constipation trial results and a negative cholesterol trial, "Limited" is the honest rating.
Eaten fresh or dried; dried figs are the more common and shelf-stable traditional preparation, often soaked or stewed.