Preserved and Dried Fruit Vs Fresh Fruit Nutrition

If you're choosing, would you rather have raisins, or fresh grapes? It may be surprising for you to learn that there are differences between dried fruits and fresh fruits.

Produce departments in most areas are filling up with berries and cherries, and they generally look more appealing than dried fruit. But some people, nutritionists say, prefer dried fruits.

One registered dietitian has said that dried fruit doesn't have to be washed or prepared or peeled, which makes it easier to serve, especially to children.

Dried food is easier to handle and pack, and it's non-perishable and portable, but it can contain more calories when you compare it with fresh fruit. Nutrition values also can change, depending on how the dried fruit is prepared.

Nutritional experts say that because of the water used in keeping fresh produce fresh, they can help to fill up your stomach more, and you'll get more fruit nutrition with fewer calories consumed.

Fresh fruits are naturally rich in fiber, potassium, folate and vitamins C and A. Dried fruits have health benefits as well, but the process of drying the fruit can leach some of the nutrients from it.

Nevertheless, dietitians will tell you that dried and fresh fruits can each play a role in helping to satisfy your sweet tooth. This helps you to combat obesity, and the dried varieties make it easier to get your four fruit nutrition servings each day.

Researchers have discovered that when you dry blueberries, they actually become richer in antioxidants by four times over fresh blueberries. But drying processes can cause nutrients to be lost, and sometimes there will be sugar added as well. So most nutritional experts believe that fresh fruit is better for you, nutritionally.

Pretreatments that take place before the drying process, which include adding sulfur dioxide, can help to protect some of the nutrients, while at the same time degrading others. The sulfur dioxide preserves vitamins C and A, but destroys thiamine. Oftentimes, vegetables or fruits are steamed, or boiled briefly before they are dried, to help speed the drying process up and to kill microorganisms. This preserves thiamine and carotene but it causes a loss of vitamin C. Exposure to oxygen and light during the drying process can also degrade nutrients even further.

Drying with high heat can reduce the effective level of protein that your body gets from the food you eat. The protein is still there, but not as easily absorbed by your body. Fruit nutrition changes with the drying process, while it helps some nutrients and degrades others. The intensity of the drying process, depending on the fruit involved, will have various effects on the fruit you will eventually eat. Some of the effects are good, some not so good, and some parts of the dietary nutrition in fruits does not change appreciably when dried.

On the positive side, dried fruit has other benefits besides increased antioxidants. It is high in fiber, so it can be helpful in controlling diabetes, lowering blood cholesterol and helping to relieve constipation. Dried fruit is also a lot healthier than sugary snacks. And it's a quick energy source for athletes.

So... dried fruit is better in some ways and worse in others, as far as fruit nutrition statistics go. Eat dried fruits for snacks, but remember to include four servings of fresh fruit in your diet a day.

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Is Canned Fruit Healthier Than Fresh Fruit?

Canned and fresh fruit are both very nutritious. Fresh fruit contains more fibre than canned fruit. Canned fruit often contains added sugars. These additives assist in not only preserving the fruit's texture and freshness, but enhancing the fruit's flavours so that the canned equivalent can more readily compare with its more expensive fresh counterparts - even in the off season months.

What Is With The Added Sugars?

Canned fruits contain added sugars. If these sugars were not added, the quality of the fruit would not be compromised, in terms of nutrition. The texture would be softer and the natural colours would fade. Companies tend to market what people want to buy -- people buy canned fruit as it requires little preparation, tastes sweet, and looks presentable. Without sugar, none of these criteria would be met.

If you are on a diet that suggests as little added sugar as possible, I would recommend buying fresh fruit.

What Happened To My Fibres?

Fruit out of a can will always contain fewer fibres than fresh fruit. This is because the skin is taken off the fruit before being canned, in order to allow for the fruit to be preserved for longer. Fibres are a type of carbohydrate that cannot be digested by our bodies. They lower your chances of symptoms including but not limited to: heart disease, diabetes, and gastrointestinal maladies. If you have got a higher chance than the average of getting the diseases listed above, fresh produce would be more beneficial to you, but that does not mean to say that canned fruit would harm you.

Get On With It! How Fresh Is My Fruit?

A lot of nutritional value is lost if the fruit you consume is not fresh. I am pretty certain that what I am about to tell you will come as a surprise. Canned fruit, despite being older in age, is on a general basis fresher than "fresh" fruit. Canned fruit is picked when at its ripest, and packaged shortly thereafter.

This in theory makes canned fruit more fresh than fresh produce, but fresh produce in most circumstances contains more nutritional value (canned fruit is processed). When you next visit the store, keep an eye out for cans of fruit that are preserved in their own juices and water. This is a much healthier alternative, when compared with fruit preserved in high fructose corn syrup.

Fresh or canned, fruit is healthy. Which is most healthy is relative to your dieting needs. A firm answer cannot be given to answer the presented question, so I will leave it in your hands to make an informed decision.

You now know enough to decide whether you should be eating canned or fresh fruit, but do you yet know what types of fruit you should be eating? Head on over to fruit nutrition facts and we'll tell you.

Learn all about the healthiest available fruits over at http://www.fruitnutritionfacts.net, I'd love to keep that surprised look on your face.

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Fruit Nutritional Facts, Nature's Natural Medicine

Fruits are packed with vitamins, anti oxidants and minerals as well as phyto nutrients and fruits are one of nature's natural medicines. There is nothing more pleasing to the eye than a bowl of colourful fruit on the table. Here are some fruit nutritional facts and why we should eat fresh fruit daily.

Fresh fruits contain simple sugars and are low in fats and calories fruit also provides the body with numerous soluble vitamins and digestible and soluble dietary fiber. Fruit can be eaten to relieve constipation and can also help lower cholesterol levels. Most fruits especially berries are filled with vitamin C, flavonoids and poly phenol which are all powerful anti oxidants.

These fruit nutritional facts have been scientifically proved to boost the immune system which fights off illness and protects us from diseases and various types of malignant cancers. It has also been proved that fruit contains a far higher content of anti oxidant than vegetables and grains. The high content of vitamins and minerals found in fruit as well as micro nutrients protect and rejuvenate the body's cells as well as the organs and minimize the ageing process.

The list of fruit nutritional facts is endless and many fresh fruits as well as dried fruits are eaten for medicinal purposes as the nutrients in fruit have been known to aid people suffering from hair loss, memory loss, osteoporosis, rheumatism, eye diseases and many more illnesses. Certain fruits prevent colds and influenza during the winter months. Fruit also helps with weight loss.

Here is a list of fruits as well as their nutritional values such as apples as the saying goes an apple a day keeps the doctor away as apples have a high content of fiber as well as Vitamin C, B, D as well as calcium and magnesium and there is a minimal folate and iron content. Many other fruits also have similar values to apples but apples really surpass all other fruits when it boils down to nutrition.

Fruit nutritional facts state that apples have a high content of phyto chemicals, anti inflammatory agents and procyanidin which protects one from having allergic reactions. But be aware as the pips found in apples contain small amounts of cyanide and even though apple cores are biodegradable never throw them down on the ground as birds eat the fruit and some die from cyanide poisoning. And remember to always wash fruit thoroughly before eating due to the deposits of pesticides.

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Fruit Juice - The Myths, The Facts and Tips

"Ouch! Arghh! Finally you heave a sign of relief! However, you felt a sharp pain while you were trying to release your stool. The next thing you noticed, there were tiny traces of reddish substance believed to be blood, that could be seen in the feces you had excreted. Recalling the food you ate for the day, you couldn't seem to remember any that provides clues to the existence of the substance. However, you could feel the burning sensation and acute pain when cleaning yourself. You suspected tears around your anus. Those were the details you gave to your doctor during your visit to the clinic. One of the most common questions normally asked by the doctor would be, "do you consume fruits?" The model answer given by most people would be "yes" since everyone of us know that fruits are healthy and known for their rich anti-oxidants in fighting against deadly diseases such as cancer, preventing cell damage and anti-aging properties. But again some people may think that drinking fruit juice everyday is the same as consuming fruits. This assumption has caused misinformation and many people are confused between facts and myths. Are you one of them?

Let's briefly describe the above scenario first. This scenario is one of the more common conditions that happen when one does not consume enough fiber. Constipation will definitely happen and your body will complain about the lack of fiber in your digestive system by using pain as a warning signal when you are doing your business in the toilet.

*3 Myths and Facts

Myth #1

I drink fruit juice daily. I think I am getting enough nutrients and anti-oxidants from the juices I drink everyday. I think there is no difference between consuming fruits and drinking fruit juices.

Fact

Drinking fruit juice is definitely not the same as consuming fruits. Why? This is because most of the fruit juices on the shelves of supermarkets, if not all, are pasteurised. This will mean that they possess lesser nutrients. Any fresh product, no matter how healthy it is that gets canned or packed, will lose vitamin b and potassium. When the product is exposed to air, it will start to lose its anti-oxidant qualities after about 20 minutes. You be better off eating the physical fruit instead.

Myth #2

I heard that fruit juices are high in carbohydrates and bad for health.

Fact

This is definitely misleading. Drinking fruit juice have beneficial qualities for your health. It will depend on when you drink the juices and whether the juices contains any added sugar. For example, drinking fruit juice after your workout will aid in replenishing body fluids and blood sugar, and also providing nutrients for your body. However, be careful of when you consume them as fruits contain high levels of sugar known as fructose, fruit juices contain even higher sugar due to the addition of sugar by manufacturers. This will quickly add up the calories and also causes insulin spikes detrimental to your health and weight management due to the high sugar content present. It is a sure fire way to put on weight if you consume fruit juice before bed time.

Myth #3

Since fruits are healthy, I can take medication with fruit juices instead of water.

Fact

Taking medication with any other fluids other than water is disastrous! Fruits are healthy, so are fruit juices depending on the sugar level. However, consuming medication with fruit juices is a totally different story. Certain fruit juices such as grapefruit juice can cause normal doses of medication to become toxic overdose as it causes the rate of absorption of specific medication to be absorbed quickly, while fruit juices such as orange juice may result in decreasing the effects of certain medication wiping out the beneficial effects from them.

*What you need to know when choosing fruit juices.

After clarifying some of the myths and facts about the difference between eating fruits and drinking"juices that appeared to be healthy", the following are what you need to know when choosing fruit juices. Look out for any added sugar. Choose 100% pasturised juices without any added sugar only as they are healthier. Juice concentrates contain a lot of sugar and it will definitely contribute to a higher probability of diabetes and obesity. A easy way to know how much sugar is present in the product is to look at the amount of sugar per serving. Compare the serving with this measurement, one teaspoon of sugar or one sugar cube is roughly 4 grams. You should now have a rough idea of how much sugar you will be consuming per serving.

Ben is a fitness enthusiast and lives a healthy lifestyle by exercising regularly daily. He is conscious of his diet and takes note of what he eats. He loves to gym to keep his body in shape while maintaining a positive mindset and outlook of life.

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Fruit Wines

There are many wines considered to be 'fruit wines'. These wines are received the name as they have ingredients of different types of fruits contained in them, rather than by the use of grapes. They usually will have a name referring to the type of fruit used to make the wine. Apple wine and plum wine are good examples.

However, fruit wines will not be called 'wine' as the term wine is designated specifically as a drink made with grapes. The name of the fruit must be in front of the word wine. This is to eliminate confusion. This also includes country wine which is the Great Britain version of fruit wine and a good indication that the wine is not made from grapes.

Many people make their own fruit wine. It can be made from any type of food that is sufficiently sweet. You might have to add a little table sugar or honey for the proper amount of sucrose.

Fruit wine is not always made from fruits. It can be produced from different plant sources that are not considered to be fruits. These types of fruit wines are often made from things like rice, dandelion, flowers, and more.

Apple wine is a German fruit wine which is made from apples. This wine is called Apfelwein in Germany. This is a form of cider that has an alcoholic content of 5.5% to 7%. Some say the taste of this wine is tart and sour. Some North Americans consume a drink in the winter months called apple cider. This most often is the very same thing but does not contain the alcoholic content. Apfelwein is often sold by the jug rather than in bottles like other wines around the world.

Wine can be produced with most fruits and berries around the world in cooler climates. It depends on the types and the amount of fermentable sugars contained inside of the fruits. Some fruits that have excessive levels of citric and malic acid can be fermented also.

Fruit wines usually need to be consumed at least a year after they are produced. These are not wines that get better as they age because of the fermentation issues. Because fruits most often need added sugars to make fruit wines these are not the natural sugars grapes have. They do not ferment the same and often need things like phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium added, which only allow the flavor to last for approximately one year.

There are many different fruits used to make fruit wines. The fruits that make the best fruit wines are elderberries, plums, peaches, blackberries, huckleberries, blackcurrants, and pomegranates. These fruit wines resemble grape wines and taste very similar.

Fruit wines are made from other fruits such as apricot, bananas, cherries, pineapple guava, and blueberries. Wines can also be made from flowers such as hibiscus, elderberry, and dandelions. Vegetables such as potatoes, rhubarb, and parsnip are also used to make fruit wines.

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Antioxidant Drinks - Choose a Balanced Antioxidant Combination of Fruits and Berries

There are many powerful antioxidants in the food world. Each of these food based antioxidant phytochemicals are constructed by nature in different ways. Antioxidants are mainly found in fruits and vegetables but can also be found in in spices. As a group fruit is the generally accepted category which contains more antioxidants per gram than any other commonly eaten food groups.

Today many highly promoted antioxidant drinks contain the "whats hot now antioxidant fruit" Examples of these popular fruits are acai, goji, pomegranate and mangosteen. While all are good and contain large amounts of antioxidant phytonutrients drinking a variety of fruits makes more sense. An antioxidant drink with a large number of different antioxidant fruits and berries offers the body a selection of phytonutrients from which to choose. Single fruit or even four to five fruit combinations do not give the body the full spectrum of phytonutrients it may need.

Very few people consider the lowly apple a highly active antioxidant fruit but it is. The predominate phytochemicals in apples are quercetin, epicatechin and procyanidin. Apples also have many other nutrients as well. It is also a very inexpensive antioxidant and should be considered as essential in any fruit essence antioxidant drink. Grapefruit another common fruit contains large amounts of vitamin c and lycopene both good antioxidants. Rose hips a strong antioxidant because of its high vitamin c content also is high in pectin an important soluble fiber.

The goji berry should always be a part of any antioxidant drink. Highly promoted yes but this fruit is one of the most nutrient dense and powerful antioxidant fruits on the planet. However it has little or no pectin like rose hips. The acai another highly promoted antioxidant fruit has many anthocyanins which are flavonoid like compounds which other plants do not have. Acai also has a high content of beta-sitosterols which other fruits don't.

A common fruit is the pineapple, but did you know that it contains high quantities of bromelain and is full of digestive enzymes and again other fruits do not contain these phytonutrients. One last example is the never talked about antioxidant fruit the cantaloupe. Ounce for ounce it is the best supplier of vitamin A. Each fruit has a different array of phytochemicals which are a great benefit to the human body and common sense tells me we need a variety of nutrients not just a single fruit source of antioxidants.

As you can see by the few examples above all fruits have different levels and different nutrient ingredients. Everyday I drink an antioxidant energy drink that has 27 different fruits plus resveratrol and quercetin It is not only well balanced but it has an ORAC rating of 8000 units per serving and 5630 mg of pure fruit essences and extracts. I have found that balance in everything seems to work best. The more varied the nutrients you consume the better protection your body receives. You might believe that this many fruits and this high of an ORAC ranking would be more expense but just the opposite is true.

Dan Keating has been researching nutritional and natural healing supplements for thirty years. Our minds and bodies are capable of living for over 152 years in a healthy state. The information concentrates on using food based nutrition and nutritional supplements to slow aging and allow for optimal health for as long as possible. http://www.antioxidants-anti-aging-super-foods.com

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Use the Glycemic Fruit Index to Accelerate Your Weight Loss

One of the things that people are told from a very young age is that they need to have five servings of fruits and vegetables a day to have a well balanced diet. This is also true when someone is following the glycemic food index in order to lose weight. But it is important to understand the glycemic fruit index to make sure that the individual stays within the proper range to maximize the weight loss.

Just as carbohydrates are not created equal, neither are fruits. It is simply not enough to know if the fruits are going to help in the losing of weight, but they also help in becoming healthy. Sugary fruits may be considered healthy by many people's standard by the mere facts they belong to the "fruit" category. People tend to associate fruits -- without regards to which ones -- with diet and losing weight. This is a common notion, and that is why the glycemic fruit index aids people in choosing the right type based on where they fall along the index.

For the most part, many fruits belong to the low end of the index. Most of the fruits are fibrous, which is something that makes food have a low GI. However, this is not the case for a lot of them. There are some surprises and it is key to understand which fruits are medium, and which ones are high. Yes, there are a few of them!

Fruits considered to have a low glycemic fruit index are apples, cherries, tomatoes, strawberries, plums, and bananas, with a level anywhere from 0-55. These fruits do not change levels of blood sugar. For the most part, people can eat as many of them as they like.

The fruits that fall in the middle of the index will have a small affect on the level of insulin. Examples of fruit with medium glycemic index are pineapples, mangoes, and raisins.

But be careful with this last group - the one on the high end of the GI index. Surprisingly -- at least to me it was -- one of the fruits that are in this group is watermelon. Even though this has a high index, based on the glycemic load and the food ranking, it is good to know that a person would need to eat a lot of it to make a big difference.

For the most part, the glycemic fruit index should not alarm people too much, because even the fruits that are high, are doing us good because they are providing key nutrients that our bodies need. In the grand scheme of things, all fruits regardless of their place in the index, would need to be eaten in big quantities to make a big difference in blood sugar.

When someone is doing this kind of diet, they should remember that most of the fruit has a low rating and therefore can be eaten and enjoyed without problems. Vitamins and nutrients are key components of the health equation. Fruits are a sweet and delicious way to provide our bodies -- on a regular basis -- what it needs to keep us in good health.

Lindsey Desner is a health enthusiast and the director of http://www.GlycemicIndexForLife.com. She is committed to help people achieve a healthier and more balanced lifestyle. Lindsey offers free expert advice on topics such as the Glycemic Fruit Index, which teaches people how to use it to lose weight naturally, easily and permanently.

Visit Lindsey's site and sign up for a FREE 10 part mini-course on the secrets of using the Glycemic Fruit Index to lose weight!

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