Dried fruits

[JennyR]

How healthy are dried fruits? I know that they are high in sugar, but do they offer any health benefits? If I have a few of them as a snack or add them to my salad or make them a part of my meals is this a good thing or should I just be avoiding dried fruits?

[Bethie]

I asked this question recently and here's what I was told. If you get unsweetened dried fruit, think of it the same way as eating regular fruit. So eat them in small amounts. Would you sit down and eat 8 apricots? Probably not. So don't eat 8 dried ones either. But in terms of sweetened dried fruits like cranberry or raisins, think of them the same way as candy. They're sweet treats, not health foods at all.

[1000kilowatts]

oh wow I never really thought about it like eating that many apricots. I've had like a dozen of them in a sitting. I think they're good for you if you find the unsweetened kind but wow, ya take it easy with how many you eat.

[Speeddemon]

I asked this question recently and here's what I was told. If you get unsweetened dried fruit, think of it the same way as eating regular fruit. So eat them in small amounts. Would you sit down and eat 8 apricots? Probably not. So don't eat 8 dried ones either. But in terms of sweetened dried fruits like cranberry or raisins, think of them the same way as candy. They're sweet treats, not health foods at all.

I think that's the best explanation I've ever heard for dried fruits Bethie. That's exactly the problem with dried fruit is it is easy to over-eat and it's easy to think you're doing something good for yourself when you eat the sweetened stuff, without realizing that you're essentially gorging on candy. I would recommend that you eat more fresh fruits than dried and stick to eating dried fruits in moderation.

[Bethie]

Thank you Speeddemon! That's exactly what I think, too. I try to save dried fruit for if I am going to a place where I am unable to bring other foods. Like if I go to an amusement park when I want to have something handy instead of just getting a funnel cake (possibly because I already had one haha) then that is a good thing to just eat when you need it because it's hard to bring things like apples to an amusement park. But for most other places, even car trips, i just try to bring regular fruit or nuts or other things like that so I'm not at risk of overdoing it.

[JennyR]

I asked this question recently and here's what I was told. If you get unsweetened dried fruit, think of it the same way as eating regular fruit. So eat them in small amounts. Would you sit down and eat 8 apricots? Probably not. So don't eat 8 dried ones either. But in terms of sweetened dried fruits like cranberry or raisins, think of them the same way as candy. They're sweet treats, not health foods at all.

Thanks for this Bethie! Your response has really put dried fruit into perspective for me. This is precisely what I wanted/needed to know I'll just stick with eating regular fruit as much as I can to avoid eating too much of the dry stuff. I'm really not looking for digestive problems!

[JohnSale]

I think dried fruits are good for the health.