Dried fruit, Is it really that bad?

[melanthia]

I've just read an article that says in general dried fruit is bad, is this true?

[bunblebeaz]

Probably because of the sugar content. The fruits that are used are sweet and drying them out concentrates the sugar.

As with everything else, use in moderation.

I have 2 snack boxes of raisins/sultanas/apricot/apple as a snack most days and I've still lost weight.

As the saying goes : '..when used as part of a healthy balanced diet...'

[Hidden]

Hi melanthia,

In a word - no. It's a good way of getting your 'five a day'. You don't have to only eat 'fresh' fruit and veg - especially given the price of some of that, particularly when out of season and flown half way around the planet. Tinned, dried and frozen are fine.

Unless the issue is something about unreliable quality or contaminants or something, I can't see any logic in the comment. But then I haven't read the article, so I don't know what the point is that the author is making.

Do remember that when losing weight it is really important to make sure you get the full range of nutrients from your food/drink intake.

The only downer I would have about dried fruit is that it might perhaps encourage some people to not take in enough fluids as most fresh fruit/veg contains plenty and it all counts towards your hydration.

Good luck with your weight loss efforts.

[OlsBean]

They are not the best choice if you are trying to lose weight as they are generally calorie rich, most dried fruits are come in at around 250-300 calories per 100g. Much better to eat their undried counterparts, for example;

100g of Raisins = 299 Calories

100g of Grapes = 62 Calories

Also be aware that some packaged dried fruits like cranberries can sometimes be sweetened.

[geemel79]

i could easily eat 100g of grapes in a sitting id probably end up with gut ache however but 20g of raisins last me a day if im eating them in work and i guess if you were to soak 20g of raisins in water for a while they would soon weigh about 100g !!!!!! i bought a 500g bag of raisins and they lasted me about 2 half weeks. its all about portion control and moderation and natural sugar is alot better than reaching for the bar of chocolate at 299 calories !

my middle boy however had a bit of an addiction to oranges/ tangerines etc and could easily demolish a whole bag in a few hours id find peel all over the bedroom unfortunately his teeth were rotting hes got really poor teeth and i put it down to that and withdrew fruit where possible and limited it, his adult teeth have grown in he eats no sweets or sugary drinks or foods, eats fruit in moderation and brushes his teeth more than my other two (my eldest gets sweets at his grans qnd doesnt brush his teeth unless pinned down and tortured) yet his teeth are still rotten, im afraid with him its genetic !!!

so many pros and cons but id rather try and eat as much fruit as possible in the easiest and most convenient way possible and if thats using the dried fruit variety then so be it

[OlsBean in reply to geemel79]

Personally I can eat a lot more raisins than I can grapes although raisins are probably not a good example, take something like dried apricots, once again I could easily polish of a dozen, probably more but I would not be able to consume the same number of apricots.

Dried fruit is not the best thing to be eating if you are trying to LOSE weight, yes it's healthy and there are certainly benefits to eating it but the same can be said for nuts and seeds, some types of either have Superfood Status but they are best avoided whilst trying to lose weight because once again they are mostly high in calories.

Once again I am not saying Dried Fruit is bad for you, I'm merely stating it's quite normally high in calories.

[geemel79]

it is high in calories true but if youre not meeting your calorie intake per day thats worse than having a little too much and your body needs fruit and if this is an easy way to take your five a day and have a sweet snack then i recommend it and no one iknow who consumes loads of dried fruit struggles to lose weight, nuts yeah as its a high energy protein if youre cutting out your carbs protein is the next source of energy preferred by the body its all abput balance, im trying to cut out my calories and up my protein intake and for first 5 weeks on the plan i managed a total weight loss of 4lbs and in 5 days since altering my diet again but still sticking to 1200cal(because of my ibs this is a struggle to even eat that much) ive lost 4lbs, everyones bodies are different. my friend counts her calories and fixates on calories only and shes not losing weight at all shes kidding herself on that chips donner meat and sauce contains 437 calories but hey shes still under her calorie intake for the day !!! dillusional is not the word