UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania-A new study discovered that individuals who consumed dried fruit were healthier compared to those who did not.
According to the researchers, the result of the study suggests that dried fruits should be part of your balanced diet since they can help you to be healthier.
Valerie Sullivan, a graduate student of Penn State and a postdoctoral researcher from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, explained the benefits of eating dried fruit, together with some caveats.
She said that dried fruit are good, nutritious snack. However, consumers would want to make sure that they are purchasing unsweetened products, those without added sugar.
Also, portion sizes could be tricky since a dried fruit serving is usually smaller compared to a fresh fruit serving. It is because water is eliminated from dried fruits. Nevertheless, dried fruit can help you consume more fruit since it is cheaper, shelf-stable, and portable.
Research in the past has observed that poor diet could contribute to the almost 50% mortality rate from cardiovascular disease in the United States. Moreover, one of the major factors of this is the lack of fruit in the diet.
Based on the study, fruits are important sources of the nutrients that your body need. They include potassium, fibre, and other bioactives that are good for the heart.
Nevertheless, many people miss out the benefits of fruits due to many reasons, like cost, limited availability, and the fruits’ short shelf life. For this reason, the researchers wanted to know if dried fruits could be a good alternative to fresh fruits.
Kristina Petersen, an assistant professor at Penn State for nutritional sciences when the work was done, explained that minimally processed fruits, including dried, canned, and frozen, have advantages over fresh ones.
One is they are available anytime of the year. Another is they have a consistent quality and have a longer shelf life. Many of these forms of fruit are also cheaper per serving compared to their fresh equals.
The study used the data gathered by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which involved 25,590 respondents. The participants gave information about their food consumption in the previous 24 hours. Other details collected were their’ cardiometabolic health, such as blood pressure, waist circumference, and body mass index.
The data analysis result showed that people who consumed dried fruit had better quality diets than the rest. They were also found to have lower systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and body mass index.
Thus, if you want to be healthier, it is time that you consider adding dried fruit to your diet.
