Dried Fruit - Nutrition

Nutrition

Dried fruits retain most of the nutritional value of fresh fruits, and so are included with fresh fruit in dietary recommendations by U.S. and world health agencies. The specific nutrient content of the different dried fruits reflect their fresh counterpart and the processing method (e.g. traditional dried fruits versus sugar infused dried fruit). In general, all dried fruits provide essential nutrients and an array of health protective bioactive ingredients, making them valuable tools to both increase diet quality and help reduce the risk of chronic disease. The combination of nutritional value and enjoyable taste is the reason dried fruits have been popularly considered a healthy food for millennia. Because they are naturally resistant to spoilage, easy to store and transport and relatively low in cost, dried fruits are a convenient way to increase the number of servings of fruit in the diet. The following are basic nutritional facts on dried fruits:

• Like fresh fruits, dried fruits are practically devoid of fat, trans fats, saturated fat and cholesterol.
• Like fresh fruits, dried fruits have very low sodium content.
• Dried fruits are a particularly significant source of dietary fiber and potassium. On a per serving basis (1/4 cup) dried fruits are among the top 50 contributors of these nutrients among all foods in the American diet. Amongst all fruits, they are among the top 5 contributors of potassium and fiber.
• Dried fruits also provide essential nutrients that are otherwise low in today's diets, such as vitamin A (apricots and peaches), calcium (figs), vitamin K (dried plums), iron, and copper. Raisins and dried plums are among the 50 major contributors of boron in the American diet raisins having the highest concentration at 2.2 mg per 100 g. Boron, a putative trace element is important for the growth and maintenance of healthy bones and joints.
• Traditional dried fruits have no added sugars. Drying removes some of the fruits' water and so concentrates their natural sugars. This, however, is normalized by a smaller serving size (e.g. 40 g for raisins versus 126 g for grapes, Nutrition Labeling and Education Act). For this reason, total sugar and energy values are similar between dried and fresh fruit. Most traditional dried fruits have minimal amounts of sucrose, their sugar is in the form of fructose and glucose.