Is Dried Fruit Healthy Or Not?

Whether it’s cashew nuts, almonds, dried apricot, or dried peaches or something else, many people enjoy them in various ways. We like adding them to the bowl of cereal or eating them as an after-dinner snack while watching a movie or having a drink with friends. There are a lot of people who say that they are an excellent source of energy when you are going on a long bike ride or hiking for many hours. Some also claim dehydrated fruit is an excellent food for the brain.

While some swear on tremendous benefits, others advise us to be cautious regarding fruit that was processed in food dehydrator because it is high in calories and sugar.

So it is not surprising to get confused about whether you should eat it or not and how much.

The truth is somewhere in the middle. Fruit that has been dried in food dehydrator does contain a lot of nutrients and has other benefits that we will mention a bit later. However, you do need to be cautious, and here is why.

Because food dehydrator takes the water out of fruit, it becomes smaller than fresh variation. It allows you to eat a lot of it without really realizing how much you’ve eaten. Like everything else, the fruit does have calories that come from sugar and other things, so you might consume much more then you should. Also, some producers add sugar or preservatives to their products. So when you are wondering are raisins healthy – the answer is yes, but you have to watch that there isn’t anything added there.

BENEFITS OF DRIED FRUIT

As we mentioned beforehand there if you take care of the quantity, there are a bunch of reasons why dried fruit should be part of your diet.

• Heart – Friendly. One of the benefits of dried figs, as well as other fruit, is that they are full of potassium, which is a well-known heart-friendly mineral as it helps combat water and sodium retention. Figs have also backed with calcium that, along with potassium, significantly improves bone health.
• Colon health. Dried fruit is an excellent source of fiber, which is essential for good digestive health.
• Better diet. Studies show that people who consume dried fruit regularly have a healthier diet in general and don’t eat fatty and sugary foods as much.
• Weight loss. Also, some studies eating dry nuts and other fruit contribute to weight control and weight loss. Because they are high in calories, they keep us satisfied.
• Overall health. Eating raisins lowers blood pressure, particularly systolic. Also, scientists say that consuming dried fruit daily reduces cholesterol and sugar in the blood, which is essential for preventing certain diseases such as diabetes.

DOES DRIED FRUIT HAVE ANY NUTRITIONAL VALUE

We think what needs to be clear is that this is simply fruit that was processed in a food dehydrator. Taking the water out is done for preservation purposes, and allows access to some types of seasonal fruit. There are other ways of dehydration, and some people are also wondering about the quality and whether frozen dried fruit is healthy.

High nutritional value of dried fruit, whether it is dried in a standard or freeze food dehydrator, is precisely the reason why nutritionists and other doctors recommend it. This food has high levels of a variety of minerals and vitamins, such as calcium and potassium, as we already mentioned. Also, it contains iron, magnesium, vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, antioxidants, zinc, and many others. All this will significantly contribute to you feeling generally better, improve your heart health, bone health, and so on. It might surprise you, but dry nuts and fruit have higher nutritional value than fresh fruit.

Of course, there are different nutrients in various types of dried fruit. If you are interested to know more about dried fruits nutrition facts, you can check out this article.

WHAT ARE HEALTHIEST DRIED FRUITS

Sometimes people are asking questions like, how many calories in dried fruit. There isn’t a straightforward answer in the sense that you have to check for each specific type. If we are talking about a mix, we can say that 100 grams mix has approximately 350 calories. But it still depends on what kind of combination it is. The raisins, for example, have around 85 calories per ounce, prunes 418 per cup, banana chips 147 per ounce, and so on.

Then it also isn’t so simple to say what is the best dried fruit to eat . They are all good if you take care of the amount and that they don’t have added sugars or preservatives. Maybe the best thing to do is get a food dehydrator and learn how to make dried fruit by yourself while you are at it. We want to say that maybe you can check out the food chopper as well.

It is also useful to know which dried fruit has the least amount of sugar. Generally, dried cranberries are very low on sugar, as there are only 10 grams per cup, but there are plenty of others that don’t contain a lot of sugar, as you can see here. Still, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to watch the intake.

HOW LONG DOES DRIED FRUIT LAST

Wondering does dried fruit go bad? On the other hand, is freeze-dried fruit healthy, if you store it in the fridge? People tend to think that because it is processed in the best food dehydrator, it can last forever. Unfortunately, that isn’t true. Of course, all dried fruits and nuts can and do go bad at some point. Let’s take a look at how long is dried fruit good for?

Most of the fruit from food dehydrator can last for about one year at the 60℉ or six months at 80℉. If not the adequately stored lifespan of dried fruit can be shorter. However, when you are buying dried fruit, you are more likely to see best before rather than the expiration date. This means that even if the best before time passed, it is still edible even if maybe not super fresh. If you want to make sure to keep your snacks as fresh as possible for a more extended time, you can get a vacuum sealer.

CONCLUSION

We hope that this text helped you understand how healthy dried fruit is for us. Some people are confused because doctors emphasize that it should be consumed in moderation, though. But when you think about it, all things, no matter how healthy they can be, need to be taken moderately. What is your favorite dry fruit snack? Do you have a food dehydrator at home, or you buy dry fruit? In the end, we would like to remind you that you can read a bunch of excellent texts that mykitchenadvisor prepares for you, such as the one about the best mini food processor.