As we all know, the health benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Sometimes it is not very convenient to eat fruit. My friends have a brainwave and come up with dried fruit that is convenient and easy to carry.

 

however, is the nutrition of dried fruit made by dehydrating and drying fruits good? or is the essence left behind? what kind of dried fruit is the "real" dried fruit? is the preserved fruit eaten by everyone?

 

 

1. really good "dried fruit" is like this

 

The processing technology of dried fruit mainly includes drying, vacuum dehydration and frying. Different practices, the nutritional gap is also very large.

 

Dried fruits and vegetables prepared by the first two methods (drying or vacuum dehydration) basically do not need to add additional sugar, oil and other ingredients, but only dehydrate and concentrate fruits (pieces) to obtain dried fruits, such as many dried dates and raisins on the market. There are also many friends who use their own oven DIY dried apples and kiwi fruit also belong to this category.

 

For the above-mentioned dried fruit with simple dehydration, although some of the more delicate nutrients such as vitamin C, polyphenols and other antioxidants will have a certain loss, but most of the nutrients are still "alive", this belongs to the real sense of "dried fruit", which is still very "material:

 

First of all, the dietary fiber in fruits, especially the dietary fiber in the peel, is still retained in this dried fruit, and dietary fiber is precious to modern people who eat more refined rice noodles.

 

Furthermore, the content of minerals such as potassium and magnesium in fruits has increased greatly. For example, the average potassium content per 100 grams of fresh grapes is 104 mg, and the potassium content per 100 grams of raisins is as high as 995 mg, so various dried fruits are one of the good sources of potassium supplement.

 

In addition, some dark dried fruits such as red, blue, purple and black are also rich in antioxidants such as anthocyanins and lycopene, which have certain health value, such as dried blueberries, dried black currants, and dried red raisins. Wait.

 

What is more "extra points" for dried fruits is that after drying, the tannins in dried fruits that are easy to stimulate the mucosa of the digestive tract are reduced, which is more suitable for people who have weak gastrointestinal function and are afraid of cold when eating fruits. In addition, for fitness people who need a "high-carbohydrate" diet after exercise, dried fruits are convenient and timely to supplement sugar and some minerals, which can do more with one stone.

 

 

 

2. the following are not true "dried fruit"

 

If it is fried and dehydrated to make dried fruits, fruits with a fat content of less than 1% will become dried fruits with a fat content of 10% or even more than 15%, such as some dried bananas, dried apples, crisp dates, etc. This dried fruit is characterized by crisp and crispy, with some oily traces in the hand.

 

 

Some friends mistakenly treat preserved fruit as "dried fruit". In fact, preserved fruit belongs to the restricted level of snacks. Because the preserved fruit processing needs to go through a high concentration of sugar solution (generally more than 65% sugar solution), making the preserved fruit crystal clear in appearance, sweet in taste, and even cover up the taste of raw fruits. Therefore, even if some preserved fruits are used as raw materials with relatively poor quality, it is difficult to taste them.

 

 

Because the high concentration of sugar solution has a certain antiseptic effect, so preserved fruit generally do not add preservatives, but there are also some low sugar preserved fruit will be appropriate to add preservatives. In addition, in order to make its color more beautiful, preserved fruit will add some pigment. In the processing of preserved fruit, vitamin C, polyphenols, etc. are almost lost, and more importantly, a lot of delicate sugar is added, which can easily cause dental caries and obesity.

 

The biggest disadvantage of 3. dried fruit is that it is high in sugar, not that more is better.

 

Although the real "dried fruit" has certain nutritional advantages, it should not be eaten more. Because most dried fruits are dried and concentrated, the sugar content is about 80%, and it is refined sugar with relatively small molecular weight. General fruits belong to low GI (glycemic index) food, while dried fruits belong to medium GI food. Eating more is not only high in calories, but also increases blood sugar faster.

 

 

In general, eat dried fruit 1-2 times a day, each time a small handle can be. Moreover, after eating dried fruit, other foods with high sugar content should be controlled, and it is best to eat less staple food to prevent excessive calories.

 

In addition, after eating dried fruit, pay attention to brushing your teeth and gargling in time to prevent damage to your teeth.

 

4. buy dried fruit must look at the nutrition label

 

Special remind everyone, buy dried fruit must look at the nutrition label. If it is a dried fruit made by frying process, most of its ingredients list contains the words "vegetable oil" and other fats, and the fat content in its nutritional composition table is not low.

 

In addition, although some products are not made by frying process, sugar and food additives will still be added to improve their color, flavor and other qualities, such as pineapple slices and dried kiwi fruit, which are mostly preserved fruits and candied fruits, which are different from dried fruits.