{"id":95091,"date":"2014-01-21T08:24:47","date_gmt":"2014-01-21T13:24:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=95091"},"modified":"2014-01-20T19:07:02","modified_gmt":"2014-01-21T00:07:02","slug":"high-and-dry-the-perks-of-dried-fruit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/01\/high-and-dry-the-perks-of-dried-fruit\/","title":{"rendered":"High and Dry: The Perks of Dried Fruit"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D., Best Life<\/a><\/strong> lead nutritionist<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I just dotted my opened-faced peanut butter sandwich with dried cherries (and a little bit of honey) and wondered, \u201cHow much nutrition is left in these cherries, or other dried fruit, for that matter?\u201d Quite a lot, I discovered after consulting recent studies. While vitamins, like vitamin C, may dwindle with drying, phytonutrients\u2014beneficial plant compounds\u2014remain.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"dried<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I found:<\/span><\/p>\n

Dried Cherries<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

I buy \u201csour\u201d or \u201ctart\u201d cherries, and a study in the <\/span>Journal of Food Science<\/span> found that these dried fruits are rich in compounds that clobber two types of free radicals, harmful molecules that promote heart disease, cancer and neurological disorders.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In addition to peanut butter sandwiches, I use dried cherries in pilafs and cereal. But you can get a lot more creative with them; for instance, the other night I went out for pizza and ordered one with a dried cherry pesto! Weird, but good. They also pair well with dark chocolate, as in these oatmeal cookies<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dried Cranberries<\/b><\/span>
\nFresh cranberry season is so short that most of the year, dried cranberries are the only option. Because they\u2019re unbearably tart, the dried version is coated with a little sugar syrup, which is OK because you\u2019re also getting a dose of proanthocyadins, a phytonutrient that helps prevent urinary tract infections. They also strengthen blood vessels and may help slow down the progression of retinopathy, an eye disease that\u2019s common in people with diabetes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dried cranberries work in grain-based recipes (as in this <\/span>chicken and couscous dish<\/a><\/strong>), cereals, energy bars and salads.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dried Figs
\n<\/b><\/span>Dried figs are even higher in beneficial phenolic compounds than fresh figs. For example, they contain catechin and epicatechin, two of the compounds that give tea its heart-disease-fighting powers. All figs are phytonutrient-rich, but the dark black mission type contain the greatest amount. <\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a big difference in taste and moisture among different types (and even brands) of dried figs, so it\u2019s worth a little trial and error to find ones you like. They pair beautifully with walnuts as a snack, and can even be thrown in the blender, as in this shake recipe<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Raisins
\n<\/b><\/span>They rank in the top quarter of foods for their antioxidant power. Regular raisin consumption has been shown to lower blood pressure, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and triglycerides, according to a recent University of Kentucky review of the research.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve always had one type of raisin, there\u2019s reason to branch out\u2014golden, muscat, Sultana zante currant and others are distinctively delicious. More unusual ways to use them: with popcorn<\/a><\/strong>, in hummus<\/a><\/strong>, and even as part of a Banana Raisin <\/a>Cole Slaw<\/a><\/strong> (you read that right!).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Also Read:<\/strong><\/p>\n

If You Only Keep One of Your Resolutions, Make it More Fruit<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Top 10 Must Have Pantry Basics<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dried Fruit Might Fill Nutrition Gap, at High Caloric Cost\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D., Best Life lead nutritionist I just dotted my opened-faced peanut butter sandwich with dried cherries (and a little bit of honey) and wondered, \u201cHow much nutrition is left in these cherries, or other dried fruit, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3695],"tags":[4116,154,1558,861,6562,3579,892],"class_list":["post-95091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-and-nutrition","tag-cherries","tag-cranberries","tag-figs","tag-fruit","tag-fruits","tag-power-of-fruit","tag-raisins"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95091"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95097,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95091\/revisions\/95097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}