
Dried fruit is a fruit where most of the original water content has been removed. The process of removing water may be by natural methods, drying or by specialized food dryers.
In addition to the fresh food group, dried fruits are also very popular because of their convenience, but the good and bad of this food group are still not fully understood.
Overview of dried fruit
Dried fruit or dried fruit refers to the fruits whose internal water has drained out through natural drying or drying techniques. Products shrink in the form of dry brittle, or candy but still rich in energy, nutrients.
For example, plums, figs, apricots, mangoes, longans, lychees, pineapples, blueberries, bananas, apples, cassava, etc. are dried. The advantage of dried fruit is easy to store, convenient to use, especially in the case of away from home, long trips without refrigerators to preserve.

Dried fruits contain a variety of micronutrients, fiber and antioxidants
Dried fruits contain the same amount of nutrients as fresh fruits, but are concentrated in smaller volumes. By weight, dried fruit contains up to 3.5 times more fiber, vitamins and minerals than fresh fruit.
Especially in fiber, including polyphenols help improve blood circulation, digestive health, reduce oxidative damage and reduce many other diseases. The content of vitamin C is significantly reduced after drying.
Effects on health
According to many studies, people who eat dried fruits are less likely to gain weight but consume more nutrients than the group who do not eat this fruit, especially the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components.
Raisins work to reduce disease risk
Raisins are rich in fiber, potassium and plant compounds that promote health, have a GI (glycemic index) and a low insulin index, do not increase blood glucose or insulin after eating.
Research also shows that raisins can help lower blood pressure, improve blood sugar, reduce inflammation and blood cholesterol.
Prunes are a natural laxative
Prunes are very nutritious, rich in fiber, potassium, beta-carotene (vitamin A) and vitamin K and are known to be useful natural laxatives. The reason is that prunes are high in fiber and asugar alcohol is called sorbitol.
Eating prunes helps improve bowel movements, reduce constipation, even better than psyllium constipation medication.
In addition, due to its rich source of antioxidants, prunes can inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesteroland (bad blood fat) which helps prevent strong heart disease and cancer.
And yet, prunes are rich in a mineral called boron, which is good for bone health, especially against osteoporosis.
Dates are good for pregnant women
Dates are sweet fruits, rich in fiber, potassium, iron and some other plant compounds, richer in antioxidants than any other fruit, so it works to limit the damage caused by the oxidants in body cause.
Despite being sweet, dates have a low GI, not causing a sudden rise in blood sugar. According to the study, eating dried dates is beneficial for pregnant women, making it easy to get through labor, especially the cervical dilatation effect, as well as pain relief during labor.
According to the study, if at the end of pregnancy, eating dried dates daily, only 4% of pregnant women needed pain relief at birth compared with 21% in the group that did not eat dried dates.
Through animal studies and in the laboratory showed that dried date is a good infertility medicine for men. However, this is only the initial finding, there is not much evidence to verify.
Because water is removed, sugar and calories increase by volume, including glucose and fructose. Natural sugar content of some dried fruits such as raisins (59%), dates (64-66%), prunes (38%), dried apricots (53%) and dried figs (48%) .
22- 51% of the sugar content in dried fruits is fructose, if eaten a lot will be unhealthy such as weight gain, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
On average, an ounce of raisins (about 30g) contains 84 calories, mostly from sugar.
Because water is removed, sugar and calories increase by volume, including glucose and fructose. Natural sugar content of some dried fruits such as raisins (59%), dates (64-66%), prunes (38%), dried apricots (53%) and dried figs (48%) .
22- 51% of the sugar content in dried fruits is fructose, if eaten a lot will be unhealthy such as weight gain, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
On average, an ounce of raisins (about 30g) contains 84 calories, mostly from sugar.
Dried fruits contain high amounts of natural sugar and high energy
Because water is removed, sugar and calories increase by volume, including glucose and fructose. Natural sugar content of some dried fruits such as raisins (59%), dates (64-66%), prunes (38%), dried apricots (53%) and dried figs (48%) .
22- 51% of the sugar content in dried fruits is fructose, if eaten a lot will be unhealthy such as weight gain, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
On average, an ounce of raisins (about 30g) contains 84 calories, mostly from sugar.
Avoid eating dried fruits with added sugar
To make the dried fruit sweet and appealing, sometimes people add sugar or syrup before drying, so it is also called fruit “candy”.
Sugar abuse is unhealthy, increasing the risk of being overweight, obese, having heart disease, even cancer.
To avoid using sugar-rich dried fruits, read the nutritional ingredients and relevant information on the label carefully.
Due to poor food safety regulations, subjective human error, weather and storage, adverse compounds, especially the addition of sulfite preservatives, are limited. mold, making fruits more attractive, not discolored, especially the group of brightly colored fruits like apricots and grapes.
However, when ingested prone to abdominal pain, skin rash and increased risk of asthma. To avoid eating sulfite, choose a brown or gray dried fruit instead of a handsome one.
In addition, dried fruits may be contaminated with fungi, aflatoxin and other toxic compounds when handled or preserved. Therefore, from processing to storage, it is necessary to follow proper procedures, especially in hot and humid places and without storage facilities.
Do dried fruits contain sulfite, mushrooms and toxins?
Due to poor food safety regulations, subjective human error, weather and storage, adverse compounds, especially the addition of sulfite preservatives, are limited. mold, making fruits more attractive, not discolored, especially the group of brightly colored fruits like apricots and grapes.
However, when ingested prone to abdominal pain, skin rash and increased risk of asthma. To avoid eating sulfite, choose a brown or gray dried fruit instead of a handsome one.
In addition, dried fruits may be contaminated with fungi, aflatoxin and other toxic compounds when handled or preserved. Therefore, from processing to storage, it is necessary to follow proper procedures, especially in hot and humid places and without storage facilities.