Benefits of dried fruits
Some of the benefits of consuming dried fruits are that they contain properties that help regulate functions of the human body, strengthening the digestive system, circulatory, immune and also helps cardiovascular health; due to its high fiber content of vitamins and antioxidants.
In addition, they contain anti-inflammatory properties that help with various infections and prevent diseases such as cancer.
Due to the sweet taste of dehydrated fruit people can get confused and think that these fruits are not healthy. However, the sweet taste is because the concentration of fructose. This happens because they are smaller than the fresh ones. At the time of drying, the fruit loses approximately 80% of its size because the water is eliminated (fruits have a lot of water, in some cases water represents more than 80%); and, nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants and fructose are concentrated in the dried fruit.
Dried fruits are 100% natural. The drying process is natural since it is placed in ovens, where the temperature is managed to take care of the nutrients and vitamins of the fruits. However, this drying process is not new. It is known that for centuries people used to dry the fruits in the sun to be preserved for a longer period of time lose size but no properties. The only thing that has changed is the technology that allows a more hygienic fruit drying and controlling the temperature to be the ideal drying for each type of fruit.
Currently, these fruits last about a year, without needing to be in the refrigerator or frozen, what makes them ideal to be able to take excursions or as lunch. Due to its energetic content it is adequate to cover your needs and satiate the hunger, in addition they have less weight and volume than fresh fruit.
What makes them better is that they contain no cholesterol, do not have harmful fats for health which makes them perfect for a healthy snack or include them in our daily meals. Eating dehydrated fruit is associated with low weight due to the great contribution of nutrients they have. However, it must be said that dehydrated fruit has more calories than fresh ones. This is due to its size reduction which can cause it to be consumed more by the idea that it is less. For example, if you eat 0.055 pounds of dried fruit is like your consumed 0.22 pounds. So an abuse in this product could cause you to gain weight. However, this food in the recommended portions can help your diet plan because of its high nutrient and fiber content. In addition, this food is highly recommended for athletes because with little amount can absorb the nutrients they need to continue their exercise. Also, this food is highly recommended for children as it is a sweet-tasting food that does not contain extra sugar and helps children to grow because of its high content of various nutrients that helps them have a balanced diet.
Dehydrated fruits contain lots of vitamins. However, studies have confirmed that this type of food retains a total 20% of total vitamins C and half in vitamin A. These vitamins are reduced during the process of dehydration, although they are not completely lost and contain more vitamins C and A than a lot of snacks that are consumed daily. On the other hand, dried fruit are able to retain 100% of the minerals of the fruit providing iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, among others. Depending on the fruit is the amount of minerals that we are going to get, since each fruit brings various vitamins and minerals as well as quantity. We want to mention the vitamins and minerals that contribute the following fruits:
- Pineapple contains fiber, calcium, iron, iodine, magnesium, zinc, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, vitamins B1, B2, B6, folic acid, various amino acids such as alanine, arginine, phenylalanine, glycine, lysine, proline, among others.
- Coconut contains protein, fibers, carbohydrates, calcium, iron, iodine, magnesium, zinc, selenium, sodium, potassium and vitamins B1, B2, B6, folic acid; as well as various amino acids.
- Mango contains protein, carbohydrates, fiber, calcium, iron, iodine, magnesium, zinc, selenium, iodine and potassium; it also contains vitamins such as A, B1, B2, folic acid and various amino acids.
- Apple contains protein, carbohydrates, fiber, calcium, iron, iodine, magnesium, zinc, selenium, sodium, potassium and phosphorus. It also contains vitamins like B1, B2, folic acid, vitamin C.
- Blueberries contain protein, fiber, calcium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and sodium. They contain folic acid, carotenes and vitamin C, as well as various amino acids.
- Banana contains calcium, iron, iodine, magnesium, zinc, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, vitamin C, carotenoids, folic acid, vitamin A, B1, B2 among other amino acids.
When buying dehydrated fruits, be sure that they do not have added sugar since the dehydrated fruit contains concentrated fructose. If we buy fruit with added sugar, the calories increase as well as a sugar content which is no longer healthy because it is sometimes doubled or triples the amount of sugar in each portion.
Dried fruits should be a complement to your diet. You should not only eat these fruits; you need to balance your meals, otherwise it won’t be healthy. For example, you can eat these fruits as a:
- Snack: since they contribute great amount of nutrients, they do not contain cholesterol or fats, in addition they are able to transport them easily by their weights and size and they also resist long periods of time.
- Complement in each meal: there are thousands of recipes that use different types of dried fruits. This helps us balance our diet and allows us to ingest the necessary nutrients. Its use is very common in salads and we must complement it with protein so that our organism receives all the necessary nutrients.
- Dessert: Formerly associated with the use of dried fruits only in the Christmas season and are very famous fruitcakes or various desserts. This tradition was because in the past having they need to dry their fruits because it was the only possible way to preserve food during the winter, so they dissected them to have fruits available during this time of year. However, we can now find any type of dried fruit in any season of the year.
At Instantia, we take care of the quality of our products that’s why we select the highest quality fruit from the best Mexican fields, and carefully process them using low temperatures to maintain the original properties of each fruit.
During the drying process, if you do not take enough care you can lose the nutrients of fruits. For this reason, we care about each step of the production of our fruits. Since its cultivation, taking care that farmers comply with established quality standards, as well as organic fruit certifications (do not use additives, chemicals in fruits or land). Later, during the drying process, we look after the temperature in which the fruits are dried so that the nutrients are not lost and have a pleasant texture and taste.
We are committed to the health of our clients, and we want to share our culture with the world, creating healthy and delicious products. That is why all our products are 100% natural we never use additives, sugar or preservatives on any of them. Thus you will have the security that you are consuming organic food, completely natural, with the nutrients that you need to focus in health helping you to fulfill your daily activities. In addition, our company is committed to fair trade and sustainability. We respect the environment and closely work with agricultural communities in each region.
That is why our products are organic. We are aware of climate change and the damage that industrial products are causing to the environment. For this reason, we work to have a reduced carbon footprint, taking care of the production process of our products so that you always have the assurance that your food is healthy, natural and nutritious
We want to be part of people’s lives, providing something positive in their food and lives. From the fair trade support we have with our farmers so that they can continue with the organic production of their products and with our customers to provide them with quality products at an affordable price.
We are in favor of organic agriculture because it goes beyond certifications, an organic culture is about taking care of the environment at each stage of production; from the soil so that it does not lose its nutrients, each fruit is taken care of so it complies with the quality standards without using additives or chemical products to maintain their flavor and color; we want to improve our production process every day to make it sustainable (create the energy we consume or even more). This can be achieved with a process that is environmentally friendly and can achieve sustained growth without damaging our ecosystem. It is time to change our minds and go for organic products as these are the definition of caring for the environment, our health and our future as a society.