Eating Dried Fruit Might Be Even Healthier Than You Thought

Researchers from Penn State University have discovered that people who eat dried fruit are healthier than those who do not. Specifically, as The Takeout relates, they consume a greater amount of nutrients — but at the same time, they also risk consuming more calories. This may be due to how a dried fruit, having lost its liquids, becomes smaller, making it easier to eat more of them than if you trudged through a gushier version.

However, for those who may be worried about the increased calorie intake, Anthony Komaroff, M.D, editor in chief of the Harvard Health Letter assuages the concerns of a questioner worrying about the weight gain associated with dried fruit by saying that as long as you stay clear of dried fruits with added sugar and keep track of how much you eat, you'll only enjoy health benefits. Of course, eating dried fruit should form a part of your healthy lifestyle, not make up its entirety, if you want to accrue their benefits to the fullest.

The importance of this fact, however, is that it may lead a way to spread a more nutritious lifestyle more widely. As Kristina Petersen, now an assistant professor of nutritional sciences at Texas Tech University but was an assistant research professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State, explained to Science Daily, "They are available year round, are relatively consistent in quality, and can be stored for far longer than fresh. Many are also less expensive per serving than their fresh counterparts." These benefits run directly against the reasons why many people fail to consume as much fruit as they should for a healthy diet, namely the cost of buying a substance that will spoil before you get around to consuming it.

If snacking isn't your thing but you still want to introduce some dried fruit into your diet, you could, as Tracey Romero suggests for Philly Voice, use various dried fruit as supplements to your meals. Add raisins to your cereal or oats, cranberries to your lunchtime salad or sandwich, or golden raisins to a stir fry dinner. If you want more fruit in your life, an answer is at hand.