Dried fruit safety is just a myth

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Oatmeal and dried fruit are traditionally considered the ideal healthy breakfast. In fact, these foods are not as safe as they seem, scientists say. As, however, many others, which are usually ranked as useful and low-calorie.

There are indeed more healthy ingredients in muesli bars than in any chocolate bar. All kinds of grains and nuts are rich in protein, carbohydrates and fiber, are good for digestion and fight hunger well.

However, in addition to these useful ingredients, the composition of the bars most often includes dried fruits, and pieces of the same chocolate, and, of course, a large amount of sugar. Even if honey is indicated on the label of a treat, it is probably a synthetic product and ultimately it will bring harm, not benefit, writes AiF. And in terms of calorie content, muesli is absolutely not inferior to chocolate. The only difference is that you can't gorge yourself on chocolate, but muesli is quite possible. True, for this you have to eat 80-100 grams, which is the same 500 kcal.

The fact that dried fruits are low in calories and low in sugar is another myth. During the drying process, water is removed from the fruit, while the sugar remains. Moreover, its concentration increases several times due to the lack of liquid. For comparison: in one fresh apricot (about 45 g) there are approximately 12 kcal, and in one dried apricot - 15 kcal. In addition, when processed in dried fruits, most of the vitamin C is decomposed.

You should also be skeptical about the statement that fresh fruits are healthier than frozen ones. Scientists emphasize that the concept of "fresh" is very, very relative. As a rule, it means that the product has not undergone any processing. But how often do we think about how long ago the fruit was plucked from the branch? Until the fruit gets to the counter, they have time to lose all their vitamins. Freezing, which is carried out immediately after assembly, preserves the nutrients to the maximum.

Inherited from skeptical scientists and dairy products with bacteria. If the number representing how many bacteria is in a milk drink is less than 1 billion, then there will be little health benefits from it. And if the label claims otherwise, these are simply advertising gimmicks of the manufacturer. The claim that yogurt icing, which is used in supposedly low-calorie cakes, is better than chocolate, is also not always true. Such glaze can contain as much sugar as chocolate, and even more fat.