The Contributions Of Dried Fruits To Health According To Science

According to several scientific studies, dried fruits contain nutrients that provide health benefits. Haven’t you included them in your diet yet? Discover all their contributions.

Even though dried fruits have a fairly large number of calories, they have many health benefits, according to science. Indeed, they provide essential nutrients and have a high content of proteins, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins B and E. Discover all the properties of this food in this article!

Remember that the basis of healthy eating is variety. It is therefore important to introduce different types of dried fruits to benefit from all their benefits: each type indeed contains a certain nutrient in a greater proportion.

The health benefits of dried fruits according to science

Dried fruits  include a generic group of foods that are actually grains, seeds, or fruits. They all have in common a low water concentration and a high fat content. It is also advisable to ingest a daily portion, that is to say a handful of 20-30 grams.

The healthiest options for consuming this food are natural, that is, without grilling or frying them, with their shell, no additives and no salt. By eating them this way,  we can take advantage of all the properties of fatty acids and antioxidant compounds.

They control the weight

Dried fruits  help keep weight at the same level, even though they are high in calories. Let’s see the calories they provide for portions of 100 grams:

• Macadamia nuts: 718 kcal.
• Nuts: 650 kcal.
• Pinion: 629 kcal.
• Hazelnut: 628 kcal.
• Almond: 575 kcal.
• Peanut: 571 kcal.
• Pistachio: 557 kcal.
• Cashew nuts: 550 kcal.
• Chestnut: 213 kcal.

It should be taken into account that in general, we ingest 30 g of it, as we specified a little earlier. Therefore, they provide us with fewer calories. Despite this, dried fruits are not associated with weight gain,  as this study published in the European Journal of Nutrition shows .

What could this be due to?

• Their great satiating power,  thanks to their protein, fiber and fat content.
• Greater compensation. Dried fruits make you eat less during the rest of the meals, thus offsetting up to 65-75% of the calories ingested.
• Greater adherence to food because the brain considers them to be pleasant foods.

Beneficial for the cardiovascular system

Dried fruits have a high content of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. They represent a good dietary supplement to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis  and diseases of the cardiovascular system.

More specifically, they have the ability to lower total blood cholesterol and its LDL fraction, better known as “bad cholesterol”. In addition,  HDL cholesterol is maintained or slightly increased (“good cholesterol”).

We can see it in this review, which summarizes the result of several large studies:  greater consumption of dried fruits leads to lower mortality from coronary heart disease.

The dried fruit that provides the greatest amount of omega-3 is walnut. It helps lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well as lower blood pressure. Hazelnuts and almonds decrease blood lipid and homocysteine ​​levels.

Dried fruits help intestinal transit

Lack of fiber is one of the main causes of constipation. With about 10.6% of this nutrient,  pistachios are good friends for the proper functioning of the intestines. In addition, almonds and pistachios, especially if we eat their skin, are able to act as prebiotics, thus improving the diversity of the microbiota.

Lower risk of developing diabetes and metabolic syndrome

According to science, including dried fruits in the diet, at least twice a week, is  associated with a 32% reduction in the risk of developing metabolic syndrome and diabetes,  as shown in this study published in Nutrients.

In addition, it should be noted that they are rich in trace elements, minerals that the body needs in small amounts, and especially magnesium. This promotes insulin resistance,  which helps prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.

Cashews, with 292 mg for every 100 g, are the ones that provide the most magnesium. For their part, pistachios stand out for their high potassium content (1025 mg), the deficiency of which would prevent diabetes control.

They improve cognitive function

Another benefit attributed to dried fruits is their possible power in preventing cognitive dementia. Walnuts have many  neuroprotective compounds like vitamin E, folate, melatonin, polyphenols, and omega-3s.

They prevent bone problems

Almonds are the dried fruits that provide the most calcium (269 mg for every 100 g). Therefore,  they are a good option to supplement or increase the levels of this mineral and prevent osteoporosis or any bone problem.

Pine nuts, on the other hand, are made up of significant amounts of zinc (6.45 g for every 100 g),  which helps in the formation and mineralization of bones and joints.

Eat dried fruit frequently

Did you know all these benefits of dried fruits? Have you ever included them in your diet? Remember that you can incorporate them into your breakfast or afternoon snack. The most important thing is to moderate their portions so that they do not exceed the recommended amount of calories.