THE IMPORTANCE OF DRIED FRUIT IN A BALANCED DIET
We’re sure you’ve heard in the news recently all about sugar and how bad it is for our health. And it’s true – sugar is horrible for us. It’s bad for your heart; it is one of the leading causes of weight gain in the history of humankind; not to mention it is highly addictive! We recently read about a study, which proved that lab rats that are addicted to cocaine chose to rather consume sugar when given the choice between sugar and cocaine! If that isn’t proof enough that sugar is addictive, then we don’t know what is.
But sadly fruit have been dragged into the sugar negativity unfairly. People argue that fruit (and especially dried fruit) contain a lot of what we call fructose (or fruit sugars) that are just as bad for us as normal white sugar. Fructose is just another type of sugar so if you eat too much of it, it will be bad for you. But too much of any good thing is bad for us! Moderation is key and eating a balanced diet will prevent us from overindulging in one specific thing.
We forget that dried fruit also contains a lot of fibre as well as vitamins and minerals. Its high amount of fibre is what prevents us from being able to eat too much of it! Fibre fills our tummies and is good for our digestive system. So dried fruit is an excellent snack to enjoy as a part of a balanced diet.
When we think about dried fruit as a snack and how people say that it is ‘unhealthy’ we like to paint this scenario in their heads:
What is a better snack?
- A chocolate bar made with loads of refined cane sugar
- A pack of chips deep fried in oil and over salted or
- A handful of naturally sun-dried fruit – nature’s candy.
Obviously, the answer is number 3. Nature has given us this beautiful gift of the sun and of fruit and the combination of the two gives us a natural, unprocessed food that is tasty and good for our health.
