Eating dried fruit can do wonders for your health and that of your family. Read on and find out what incorporating dried fruit into your diet can do for you today.
Every mom knows the difficulty of trying to find healthy snacks for their family. You want your kids to snack on something that is nutritious and good for them. But your kids still want junk food and they probably won’t eat anything from a distance.
If you are looking for a snack that meets your criteria and that will satisfy your children’s taste buds, you should go to your local grocery store and buy dried fruit! Dried fruits are sweet enough for your kids to love eating them, and they have many health benefits, so it’s good to let them eat them.
Here are some reasons why you should add dried fruit to your family’s diet as soon as possible.
Digestive health
Dried fruits are packed with fiber, which is essential for regulating your digestive system. In fact, dried fruits contain almost 3 times more fiber than fresh fruits, so they are an excellent source of fiber. Consuming a good amount of fiber helps regulate bowel movements, which is very important for everyone in your family.
Many children have constipation problems, especially if they don’t always eat the healthiest foods. And let’s be honest, whose kids eat healthy food all the time? Adding dried fruits to their diet can help offset the effects of the less healthy foods they eat.
Dried fruits also help balance the good bacteria in your gut, which leads to a healthier system overall.
Renewed natural energy
Dried fruits are packed with natural sugars, which provide an explosion of natural energy when needed. Dried fruits are also high in calories, which means they are digested slowly. It also provides long-term energy. So you get the immediate energy boost that a sweet snack would provide, but without the sugar crash that goes along with the empty calories of other sweet snacks.
Because dried fruits give this natural energy, they are the perfect snack for the mid-afternoon crisis. Instead of having another cup of coffee, you and your partner can have a bowl of dried fruit to help you finish the day or after school. And your kids can snack on dried fruit to get the energy they need to fuel their homework.
Super antioxidants
We have all heard how good antioxidants are for our bodies, but why are they so important? Antioxidants help fight free radicals in the body.
Free radicals are basically the accumulation of unpleasant things in our bodies. They are what is left when we consume something toxic to the body, such as alcohol, cigarette smoke, chemicals, and even certain foods. The accumulation of free radicals in the body can cause all kinds of diseases, including cancer.
Antioxidants work with the body to eradicate these free radicals, making them a huge problem. Regular consumption of foods with large amounts of antioxidants is very important for disease prevention and general health.
Dried fruits are rich in antioxidants, so adding them to your diet regularly is a great way to get more antioxidants. So when you give your family dried fruit as a snack, you can be sure that it is helping to improve their health.
Lots of vitamins and nutrients.
One of the main reasons why it is recommended that we eat five servings of fruits and vegetables each day is because they are full of vitamins and nutrients. These vitamins and nutrients are essential for a healthy body.
Dried fruits have had a bad reputation in the past when it comes to their vitamin and nutrient content. While it is true that the dehydration process causes dried fruits to lose some of their vitamins and nutrients, most dried fruits still have a very high concentration of the vitamins and nutrients that our bodies need. And dehydration processes have improved, so dried fruits now retain more of their vitamins and nutrients.
In some cases, the dehydration process actually concentrates the vitamins and nutrients from the dried fruit, making it a better source of these essentials.
Dried fruits are full of potassium, calcium, iron and magnesium. They are also an excellent source of vitamins A and B. Potassium is essential for muscle growth and health, as well as for the functioning of the central nervous system. Calcium and iron are essential for bone growth and health, which is especially important for children as their bones continue to grow.
Eating dried fruit regularly is a great way to make sure your family gets all the vitamins and nutrients that help their bodies function and grow.
Reduces the risk of disease
Another reason why it is important to get enough fruit in your diet is that it helps our bodies fight disease. Fortunately, dried fruit is just as effective at preventing disease as fresh fruit.
Nut consumption has been linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even cancer. Studies also suggest that eating dried fruit can lower blood pressure. Raisins in particular have been linked to both better blood sugar and lower blood pressure.
Many dried fruits also contain polyphenol, which can help reduce systemic inflammation. Since inflammation is linked to many different diseases, the anti-inflammatory properties of dried fruits help prevent the disease.
As mentioned earlier, dried fruits also contribute to a healthy digestive system, which is essential to prevent all kinds of diseases.
Add more dried fruit to your family’s diet
Considering all of these health benefits and more, adding a dried fruit to your family’s regular diet is a great idea. Make sure your family practices portion control when consuming dried fruit. Since it is much smaller in volume than its fresh counterpart, it can be easy to overfeed dried fruits. Try dividing the dried fruit into small reusable containers or snack bags to avoid overeating.
