Do you know the benefits of consuming dried fruits for the body? Dry fruits can provide nutrients and vitamins needed by your body. In this article from Dr. Salam’s nutrition department, you can learn more about the properties of dried fruits.
Dried fruits are saturated with sugar and natural calories:
Fruits contain a significant amount of natural sugars. Because their water has evaporated during drying, they have concentrated all their sugar and calories into much smaller pieces. Because of this, they contain a lot of calories and sugar, including both glucose and fructose.
Here and in a few examples, we will check the amount of sugar content of dried fruits:
- Raisins: 59%
- Dates: 64 to 66 percent
- Dried plums: 38%
- Apricot leaf: 53%
- Dried figs: 48%
About 22 to 51% of the sugar content of these dried fruits is fructose. Eating too much fructose may have negative health effects, including an increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. A 28-gram (1-ounce) serving of raisins contains 84 calories, almost all of which come from sugar, so dried fruit is sweet and energy-dense, and it’s easy to eat so many at one time that it can Increase your sugar and calorie intake.
Conclusion: Dried fruits are relatively high in calories and sugar. Most popular dried fruits contain 38 to 66 percent sugar, and eating too much of them may cause weight gain and various other health problems.
Avoid dried fruits that have added sugars (such as candied fruits):
Sometimes, to make dried fruits even sweeter and more beautiful, they are covered with added sugars or put in a sweet syrup solution before they are dried. Dried fruits with added sugars are introduced as fruit candy. As you know, added sugars have been repeatedly shown to have harmful health effects, increasing the risk of obesity, heart disease, and even cancer.
In order to avoid consuming dried fruits that contain added sugars, it is very important to read the information on their package that indicates the ingredients and ingredients inside.
Conclusion: Some fruits are coated with sugar or sugar syrups for drying. Therefore, always read the package of dried fruits and avoid buying dried fruits and brands that contain added sugars.
Dried fruits may also contain sulfates or may be contaminated with fungi and toxins:
Some manufacturers add preservatives called sulfates to dried fruits. These ingredients make dried fruits look more attractive because they preserve the fruits and prevent them from changing color. This material is especially used for drying fruits that have bright colors, such as apricot leaves and raisins.
Some people may be sensitive to sulfates and may experience stomach cramps, skin rashes, and asthma attacks after swallowing them. To avoid sulfates, choose dried fruits that are brown or gray and avoid bright colored ones.
Improperly stored or handled dried fruits may also be contaminated with fungi, aflatoxins and other toxic elements.
Conclusion: Therefore, sulfates are added to dried fruits to preserve their color, which may cause negative effects on sensitive people. Dry fruits that have been stored infrequently may be infected with fungi and toxins.
Our message to you:
Like many foods, dried fruits have both negative and positive aspects. Dried fruits can increase your intake of fiber and nutrients and provide a lot of antioxidants to your body. However, they are also high in sugar and calories, which can lead to problems when consumed in large quantities.
For these reasons, dried fruits should be used only in small amounts and preferably with other nutritious foods. You should not eat these fruits in handfuls because it will be very easy to enter a lot of calories into your body by eating them. Also, dried fruits are high in carbohydrates and are not suitable for low carb diets.
In the end, we repeat that dried fruits are not perfect, but they are definitely much healthier and more nutritious for your snacks than chips or other processed foods.
June 26, 2018 16:24
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