SE5: Are Your Brains Dried Too?

Sarah Heermann

5/15/2012

Writ 1122

SE5

Are Your Brains Dried Too?

Dried fruit has always been a convenient snack to grab on the go, and is typically one that will leave your conscious guilt free; it is fruit after all right? Of all the different varieties and adaptations of dried fruit, none are as popular as the raisin. No other dried fruit can match its convenience and strong association as a healthy children’s snack. But despite the hype of the health benefits and the family friendly mental picture associated with dried fruit and especially raisins, the truth about this popular snack is rather dark.  Perhaps the dried fruit you find yourself snacking on is not the health food you were lead to believe it is.

            I had always thought of dried fruit as healthy, friendly and a positive addition to my diet. Eating healthy, as it does with most people, made me feel good about myself. Eating dried fruit often made me walk a little taller with my nose in the air, but this snobby symptom came to an abrupt halt when I learned about the sugar content of this “nature’s candy”.  Often dried fruit such as raisins contain more sugar than the original fruit! Why such the increased sugar content? When fruit loses its water as it dries, it concentrates the natural sugars already in the fruit, but what makes this problematic is that the sugar then crystalizes. This crystalized sugar becomes harder to digest, and the concentrated sugar makes the body tend to engulf and absorb it all, instead of utilizing the water contained in wet fruit to flush a portion of this sugar out. Raisin’s sugar content is increased by 11.5%, and other fruit such as plums sugar content can be increased by as much as 13.6%. (Vanaman)  Sadly, producers still consider their fruit not sweet enough in its already sugar- infused state. Many dried fruits have unnatural sugar added to them, like fructose and sucrose, especially bitter fruits such as cranberries. (Vanaman)  

            However, the most alarming addition is not the sugar, but the toxic chemical sulfur dioxide used on the fruit to prevent the spoiling and browning of the dried fruit. Long-term exposure causes server illnesses and death. (McCoy)  The food industry appears to have adopted the same motto as the fashion world, “It’s better to look good than feel good”! The appearance of the fruit looks nearly 25% fresher after being treated with the toxic gas, and since freshness increases sales this is likely a fad that will stick. (McCoy)

Although dried fruit has the sneaky hidden blow of added sugar, it does have some health benefits. Dried raisins contain 3% protein and 3.5% dietary fiber, additionally they contain antioxidants. (Frehn) But before you start substituting dried fruit with the real stuff, consider the lower vitamins found in raisins versus grapes. Vitamin c was found to be 50% less in raisins than grapes and vitamin a was as much as 65% reduced. (Frehn)

The benefits of eating dried fruit can be gained by eating fresh fruit, and by doing so you can avoid the added sugar and toxic chemicals. Sucrose and sulfur dioxide are simply last year and out of style. Not only will they make you gain some lb.’s but could cause brain damage too.  If you are going to go through the trouble to be health conscious, you might as well choose something actually good for you. Next time you reach for dried fruit, go for candy instead, it’s just as healthy!

Vanaman, Bonnie. "The Percentage of Sugar in Dried Fruit."Livestrong.com. Livestrong, 2011. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/302660-what-is-the-percentage-of-sugar-in-dried-fruits/>.

Frehn, Jenifer . "Eating legumes, brown rice and dried fruit may decrease risk of colorectal cancer." News Medical. Loma Linda University, 2011. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.news-medical.net/news/20110803/Eating-legumes-brown-rice-and-dried-fruit-may-decrease-risk-of-colorectal-cancer.asp&xgt;.

McCoy, Kittie . "The Health Risks of Sulfur Dioxide in Dried Fruits Read more: The Health Risks of Sulfur Dioxide in Dried Fruits." ehow. Demand Media Inc., 2012. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/about_5514704_health-sulfur-dioxide-dried-fruits.html>.