What dried fruits are really useful for.
One way to squeeze more fruit into your diet? Choose dried fruits that are stored longer than fresh ones, and they are easier to find, pack and snack on. But are dried fruits useful? And how are they compared to the latest versions? You may be surprised.Dried fruits vs. fresh fruits
In its simplest form, dried fruits — common variants include cranberries, cherries, apricots and dates — are simply fresh fruits that have been dried either in the sun, in a dehydrator, or in some other way. When you remove the water contained in fresh fruit, the fruit naturally shrinks, so about a quarter of the size of the original version remains.
Are dried fruits useful?
Dried fruits can be an economical way to meet your fruit needs throughout the day, as well as a healthy alternative when fresh fruit is unavailable. Firstly, dried fruits are rich in nutrients, as they contain all the nutrients of fresh fruits, but in a compact form. For example, a serving of raisins made from grapes dried in the sun contains about 6 percent of the daily norm of potassium, the same amount is contained in one serving of fresh grapes.
Although all fruits have some nutritional value, such as fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, some of them deserve gold medals. Grapes (hence raisins), cherries, citrus fruits and pomegranates are among these first-class products. Fiber is one of the main reasons to eat dried fruits. You get all the powerful benefits of fiber from fresh fruits, but in a consolidated form, which means that dried fruits are more nutritious.
In essence, this means that you get more nutrients in a smaller form, which may be useful for those who struggle to eat enough fruit in their daily diet, but macronutrients and weight goals should be taken into account. If your goal is to increase your carbohydrate intake or potentially gain weight, eating healthy, nutrient-rich snacks such as dried fruits can help you. On the other hand, if you carefully monitor calories or portion sizes, dried fruits are not the best choice, since fresh fruits in a larger volume will give more satiety.
In addition to the health benefits of dried fruits, the convenience factor is another reason to consider this compact version. The shelf life of dried fruits is longer than that of fresh fruits, and you do not need to worry about the fact that the fruit may crumple. For example, a few dried dates with peanut butter is a quick and delicious pre—workout snack that you can snack on in a hurry. Just make sure your dried fruit kits contain only dried fruits — you need to check the ingredients list carefully to make sure the disadvantages don't outweigh the benefits.
When dried fruits are not so useful
It is widely believed that dried fruits are rich in sugar, but this is not always the case. In fact, many brands of dried fruit products contain only fruits and nothing else. You need to pay attention to the common sweeteners used in dried fruits — sucrose, glucose, glucose syrup, dextrose and cane sugar. The most useful varieties of dried fruits do not contain any of these added sugars.
You should also beware of any dried fruits labeled "candied" or "sweetened" — this simply means that sugar has been added to them. And those chocolate-covered dried fruits masquerading as a healthy snack? In fact, these are candies with a fruit core, that is, they are not useful at all.
Dried fruits already have natural sugar, they should be sweet enough without adding sugar.
And since dried fruits are also full of fiber (the fiber content in fruits will not change when switching from fresh to dried form), they slow down the rate at which natural sugar in fruits raises blood sugar levels, so you can avoid a spike and subsequent increase in blood sugar levels.
However, you should carefully monitor the portion size when eating dried fruits, because their portability also makes it easy to mindlessly eat a whole bag - to overdo it. Since they take up less space in the stomach than fresh fruits, you are likely to eat more dried fruits to feel full, and consume much more calories than planned. Remember that dried fruits are much more concentrated than their fresh counterparts. Would you eat 10 fresh apricots? Probably not, but you could easily eat 10 pieces of dried apricots without even thinking about it. A good rule of thumb is to keep the serving size of dried fruits at 1/4 of a regular cup (about 250 ml capacity).
One amazing thing about dried fruits is that they are sometimes coated with sulfites to preserve their color — yes, the same nasty preservatives that are found in wine.
Bottom line: are dried fruits useful or not?
It really depends on your personal goals and health. If you are not sensitive to sulfites and have difficulty eating enough fresh fruit, a controlled portion of dried fruits can be a healthy snack. And dried fruits are really taken into account in your daily fruit recommendation. However, remember: the presence of fresh fruits also promotes hydration due to their natural water content, while dried fruits cannot boast of this.
How to eat dried fruits
Here's how you can include dried fruits in a healthy eating plan.
In addition to making a homemade mixture, you can also add dried fruits to hot or cold porridges, pastries and salads. It's a nice and easy way to eat more fruits and get a dose of fiber and nutrients in a healthy way.
If you buy more dried fruits than you plan to eat at a time, be sure to store them in an airtight non-metallic container. Dried fruits can be stored even in the refrigerator.
Dried fruits can also be an ideal pre-workout meal. Since these are mainly carbohydrates, a handful of dried fruits will provide fast energy and will be easily digested (just avoid prunes, as it can cause gastrointestinal upset due to the high content of fiber and sorbitol, sugar alcohol).
Regardless of whether you eat fresh fruit or dried fruits, you are striving for the same goal — to eat more whole foods. As long as you avoid everything with added sugar (and sulfites, if you're sensitive) and keep an eye on portion sizes, both types will give you the same nutritional benefits.
