Thursday 8 September 2016 10:29am
Professor Jim Mann, director of the Edgar Diabetes and Obesity Research Centre (EDOR), has contributed to a recent Listener article on the use of dried fruit in processed foods.
Consumers and manufacturers are increasingly using dates and other dried fruits as food sweeteners in place of refined sugar. But Professor Mann says there is little difference between sweetening a food product such as a snack bar with refined sugar or dates. A dried date is about 69% sugar. When compared with whole fruit, such as an apple which has 10% sugar, dried fruit packs a sizeable sugar punch.
Professor Mann acknowledges that “most people who eat dates or any dried fruits are likely to eat them in small quantities." But it is important to check the total sugar content of processed foods that you buy, as even if a high sugar content is derived from dried fruit, it doesn't mean it is a healthy choice.
Read the Listener article on sugar and dried fruit
Why dried fruits could be next on the nutritionists' hit list, NZ Listener website, 31 August, 2016.
Further information
New Zealanders wising-up about sugar
Tips to reduce sugar
Join Lisa Te Morenga at the supermarket to look for hidden sugar
