Does dried fruit make you fat?

Posted by Shivani Sikri on October 19th, 2019

More and more often, authoritative scientific journals and newspapers have published evidence to support how regular consumption of dried fruit can contribute to the prevention of various chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

This, together with the awareness campaigns carried out by specialists in the health sector such as doctors and nutritionists, has certainly contributed to the substantial increase in the consumption of oily dried fruit that has been registered in the world in recent years among consumers interested in a balanced diet. .

Despite this, there is still a good percentage of people who choose not to introduce dried fruit in their diet: why? The idea that dried fruit is a very caloric food that therefore makes you fat .

In this article we will try to dispel this myth. The nuts in shell (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, etc.) has a very high fat content, which depending on the type of fruit ranges from 45% to 75% of the composition and therefore it is actually a food that brings many calories (high energy density). The aspect that however is not taken into consideration is that, contrary to what one thinks, if consumed in the right portions and inserted within a balanced Mediterranean type diet , accompanied by regular physical activity , it does not make you fat and provides at the same timenutrients useful for the well-being of the organism such as unsaturated fats, proteins, fibers, vitamins, minerals and antioxidant compounds.

This is what emerges from several controlled clinical studies that did not show significant changes in weight in subjects who regularly consume dried fruit , but in some cases there was an unexplained weight loss. In a review published in 2007 in The Journal of Nutrition , hypotheses were made on the mechanisms responsible for weight loss associated with the consumption of nuts:

Sense of satiety : dried fruit has a high satiating power. This property is very important in the management of body weight as the reduction of the sense of hunger can prolong the timing between one meal and another; a decrease in the desire to eat can prevent you from eating in the absence of hunger and the sense of satiety and fullness, on an empty stomach, can result in more controlled meals. The dominant cause that favors the sense of satiety has not yet been identified: probably it is a set of factors to which the content in unsaturated fats, the fibers and the low glycemic index also contribute. This aspect makes dried fruit an excellent snack to be consumed as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack, away from meals.
Poor energy absorption efficiency : despite the fact that dried fruit contains many fats, they are not entirely absorbed by the body. A part of these, in fact, pass undamaged through the digestive system and are eliminated. This inefficiency derives from the resistance of the cellular walls of dried fruit to the action of intestinal bacteria and enzymes: cells that do not break during chewing pass through the gastrointestinal tract without releasing the fats contained in them.
Increased energy consumption : it seems that regular consumption of dried fruit increases the energy expenditure due to basal metabolism. This basically means that consuming dried fruit daily stimulates the body to burn more calories, an interesting aspect that has yet to be further investigated and further studies will be needed to confirm it.

A review released in 2011 on Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases collects the results of several studies concerning the impact of intake, over a prolonged period of time (ie greater than 1 year), of oily nuts on body weight. The conclusions that emerge seem to confirm that the consumption of nuts, even in the long term , is not associated with a higher risk of onset of obesity or weight gain.

These data suggest that there are no foods that regardless of "make you fat" and that every food must be objectively assessed for its impact on body weight and the total quality of the diet. In this case, in particular, to make the difference between a healthy product and a product that makes you fat are always the portions : it is clear that taking more calories than those that are consumed, the excess calories must be "stored".

When substantial quantities of a high-calorie density food are introduced in an already high-calorie diet, without making any kind of compensation or balancing and without fully exploiting the calories ingested (for example by carrying out physical activity) the logical consequence is an increase in weight . The LARN (Nutrient Reference Energy Levels and Energy for the Italian Population) suggest a 30g portion that according to the Mediterranean diet guidelines should be consumed every day, this standard dose may undergo variations based on nutritional needs and to the food choices of each individual.

On Fruits and Berries you can find over 120 natural foods including natural dried fruit and dehydrated fruit with no added sugar, ideal for your daily snacks.

for more details contact Dietician Shivani Sikri : best dietician in delhi INDIA

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