Credit: SciTechDaily.comDitch the gummies– Research from UMass Amherst reveals that dried fruit tops the chart for dietary value.Next time youre packing lunch for your kid or reaching for a healthy afternoon bite, consider this: just three types of fruit snacks– dried fruit, fruit puree, and canned fruit with juice– meet the most current recommendations for high-nutrition snacks set by federal dietary guidelines, according to research by University of Massachusetts Amherst food scientists.Of all the commercially readily available fruit treats, defined by the USDA as “products made with fruit and fruit juices, which may or may not contain included sugar, synthetic colors and tastes, and preservatives,” the UMass Amherst group found that dried fruit has the finest total nutritional profile– the greatest nutrient density and fiber content, and the lowest added sugar.Evaluating Fruit SnacksConversely, fruit-flavored treats such as gummies have the most affordable nutrient density and fiber material and the greatest amount of added sugar. Other fruit snack choices with low nutrient density include canned fruit loaded in something other than juice, and dried flavored fruit, both of which contain higher amounts of added sugar.” We were trying to link the dots between all the nutrients, which is the advantage of the NRF– to be able to look at multiple nutrients at the exact same time,” Nolden says.Study Findings and RecommendationsThe group categorized the fruit treats into 9 different classifications: dried fruit, fruit-based bar, dried flavored fruit, canned fruit, fruit-flavored snack, fruit puree, fruit chips, formed fruit, and canned fruit with juice.In addition, they looked not only at the dietary value per serving size but also determined included sugar and fiber content based on the FDAs Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC) per consuming occasion to balance the serving variability amongst various fruit snack categories.Alissa Nolden is an assistant teacher of food science at UMass Amherst.
Credit: SciTechDaily.comDitch the gummies– Research from UMass Amherst reveals that dried fruit tops the chart for dietary value.Next time youre loading lunch for your kid or reaching for a healthy afternoon bite, consider this: only three types of fruit snacks– dried fruit, fruit puree, and canned fruit with juice– fulfill the most current suggestions for high-nutrition snacks set by federal dietary guidelines, according to research study by University of Massachusetts Amherst food scientists.Of all the commercially offered fruit treats, defined by the USDA as “products made with fruit and fruit juices, which might or might not contain included sugar, artificial colors and flavors, and preservatives,” the UMass Amherst team found that dried fruit has the best overall dietary profile– the greatest nutrient density and fiber material, and the least expensive added sugar.Evaluating Fruit SnacksConversely, fruit-flavored treats such as gummies have the most affordable nutrient density and fiber material and the highest amount of added sugar. Other fruit snack alternatives with low nutrient density include canned fruit loaded in something other than juice, and dried flavored fruit, both of which contain higher amounts of added sugar.” We were attempting to link the dots in between all the nutrients, which is the benefit of the NRF– to be able to look at multiple nutrients at the very same time,” Nolden says.Study Findings and RecommendationsThe group categorized the fruit treats into 9 different categories: dried fruit, fruit-based bar, dried flavored fruit, canned fruit, fruit-flavored treat, fruit puree, fruit chips, formed fruit, and canned fruit with juice.In addition, they looked not just at the nutritional value per serving size but also calculated included sugar and fiber material based on the FDAs Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC) per consuming occasion to stabilize the serving variability among various fruit snack categories.Alissa Nolden is an assistant teacher of food science at UMass Amherst.
