Calorie bomb: what dried fruits can be on a diet?

During dieting, you especially want something sweet, because during weight loss, the body is under stress. Many believe that dried fruit can serve as a healthy alternative to caloric and harmful sweets. After all, it is all the same fruit, but dried. Whether it’s really so, let’s find out together with Anna Glumova, nutriciologist and expert on healthy lifestyle.

Can dried fruit replace sugar?

On a diet, when the goal is weight loss, replacing sugar with dried fruits is pointless and even dangerous. Like sugar, they have a very high calorie and glycemic index and are considered simple carbohydrates.

Although, unlike most desserts and confectionery, dried fruits are natural and contain vitamins, in fact it is just as much a dessert. You should not forget this when you want to eat trendy vegan sweets based on dried fruits, nuts, seeds and cocoa – it’s the ultimate calorie bomb.

How much can you eat?

The right way to fit dried fruit into your daily calorie intake. Enter everything you ate during the day in a special application for calorie counting and compare it with your norm. This can be calculated using the formula:

BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] – [4.92 x age (in years)] + 5 (for men) -161 (for women).

This way you can figure out how much dried fruit you can afford to eat in a day.

Which dried fruits to choose?

apricots, prunes, dates, figs – leaders in terms of benefits. But seductive pomelo, kumquat, kiwi and other bright and beautiful dried fruits are not recommended for use on a diet. The technology of their preparation is far from natural and involves sugar in the composition. It is more correct to call them candied fruits, and this is far from a dietary product.

The ideal solution for lovers of dried fruits is to buy a home dehydrator (there are compact and budget models) and in the season to dry fruits yourself. Bought and dried in September grapes, melon, apples, peaches, plums – the most useful and natural dried fruits that will please you until next summer.

How to choose dried fruits correctly?

The main criterion is naturalness. The more unsightly the dried fruit looks, the better. Choose wrinkled and dull fruits: unlike bright and shiny, they have undergone less chemical processing.

Most dried fruits (99%) are treated with glycerin (for shine) and sulfur dioxide – a preservative that gives the product an attractive appearance, protects against insects, and extends shelf life. In large quantities it is harmful to health. Therefore, bought dried fruits should be soaked in boiling water for 15-20 minutes, and then rinsed 2-3 times with running water and only then eaten.