For a long time, dried fruits were considered a delicacy; they were prescribed as medicine by healers and doctors in past centuries. Now they are consumed in the preparation of various dishes or just enjoy them without any additives. If there are dried fruits, the benefits and harms of which are the cause of many discussions, you can get not only pleasure, but also replenish your body with useful substances and vitamins.
Types of Dried Fruits
Dried fruits appeared due to the need to prepare food for long trips, mainly in the sea, where access to fruits and vegetables is limited. It is generally believed that these treats belong to the eastern types of sweets. However, many people liked these dishes very much and were widely used, and now you can see dried fruits on almost any table. The benefits and harms of them are of interest to many. A variety of fruits and vegetables are dried: slices of melon and peaches, cherry plum and persimmon, and many others. However, the following products were most popular:
- pitted dried apricot (dried apricots), dried apricot and whole apricot fruit (kaisa);
- prunes with seeds and without them;
- dates;
- raisins (light and dark).
The benefits of dried products
The usefulness of dried fruits, the use of which helps to maintain youth and health, is undeniable. Consider what dried fruits are, the benefits and harms of which have already been studied. For example, dried apricot is rich in calcium, iron and phosphorus, as well as vitamin B 5 . Therefore, it is prescribed in the treatment of anemia, impaired vision, heart disease and thyroid gland. In addition, dried apricots contain organic acids and pectins, which help to remove toxins in case of heavy metal poisoning and promote intestinal function.
Prunes are an aid in the treatment of cancer. It is also prescribed for violations of the gastrointestinal tract and in general to enhance immunity. And dates - the first sweets in the east - improve heart function, restore the body after a long illness. In addition, they are prescribed during pregnancy to facilitate childbirth and stimulate the formation of milk in the mother.
Raisins are a storehouse of vitamins and minerals found in grapes. Good use of this type of dried fruit helps with sleep loss, irritation, neurosis and depression. However, it should be used cautiously for those who are obese, ulcer, diabetes, and heart failure.
Dried Fruit Harm
Eating dried fruits, the benefits and harms of which you are not yet very aware of, is probably not worth it. There are facts that the above types of dried fruits were the cause of indigestion and poisoning. This is due to the fact that in the process of drying fruits, various chemicals are used. So, to give dried apricot and raisins a good look, as well as to prevent spoilage of the product, it is fumigated with sulfur dioxide. Therefore, before eating, dried fruits need to be soaked for 1-2 hours to dissolve sulfur dioxide absorbed into the products . Sometimes in the manufacture of prunes and raisins, caustic soda is used. All this is done to give them a presentation. Therefore, it is better to buy not very "attractive", but high-quality dried fruits.
Dried Recipes
There are many useful recipes with this type of sweet, for example, when using a diet for weight loss, it is good to use honey with dried fruits. This mixture will supply vitamins and other beneficial compounds to the body, which will reduce the stress on a person’s condition while reducing weight. For these purposes, you can make cookies from dried apricots (100 g), honey (1 tablespoon), almonds (30 g), instant oatmeal (150 g) and cranberries (50 g). The cooking procedure is as follows.
- Peel the bananas and mix with finely chopped dried fruits.
- Mix all the ingredients in a thick mass and put on a parchment-covered mold using a fork.
- Bake at 200 ° C. Cool the finished cookies and decorate with raspberries.
From this type of treats you can cook a variety of dishes. And not only desserts. For example, dried fruit soup is extremely good. The use of dried products has a healing effect on the human body, and, moreover, dried fruits diversify the diet.