Ask the doctor.
Photo: lola1960/iStock
Question I really like dried fruit and I believe it’s healthy. But I heard that eating dry fruits makes you gain a variety of weight which isn’t healthy. What is reality?
Oh The truth is, actress and comedian Mae West was unsuitable when she reportedly said “Too much of a good thing…can be wonderful!” Food accommodates calories, and eating too many calories—even healthy foods—results in weight gain. But there are healthy calories and unhealthy (“empty”) calories, and fruit is a healthy source of calories. This is as true of dried fruit as of fresh fruit.
However, there are some caveats. Because dried fruit is far smaller than the fresh fruit it comes from, it's easy to devour too many calories by eating dried fruit. I rarely eat three fresh apricots or 30 grapes in a couple of hours, but I often eat greater than three dried apricots and 30 raisins in a couple of hours. Another concern is that some dried fruit manufacturers add sugar to dried fruit (which already accommodates its own natural sugars). Determining the quantity of added sugar in a serving will turn out to be easier when latest government-approved Nutrition Facts labels begin appearing.
Per ounce, dried fruit also accommodates more fiber and antioxidants called phenols than fresh fruit. Fiber fights heart disease, obesity and a few sorts of cancer (although its potential protective effect against colon cancer is controversial). People with diets wealthy in plant phenols have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, many sorts of cancer, and possibly degenerative brain diseases.
So, by all means keep eating dry fruits: they’re stuffed with healthy nutrients. But avoid added sugars, and watch calories.