Top 6 Dried Fruits Proven to Boost Weight Loss

LIMITED TIME OFFER: Join the planet friendly plant based diet!

Start today for only $9.49

Losing weight can be a frustrating business for many people, especially with so many different diet plans out there all promising fantastic results fast.

But, there are certain weight loss foods you can eat that are useful to add into your diet to help keep you slim.

In this post we will discuss the top 6 dried fruits proven to boost weight loss and which foods to best combine them with for added extra benefits.

meal plans

What Are The Best Dried Fruit For Weight Loss?

A lot of dried fruits can be super high in sugar and you need be wary of this. This is especially so when it comes to the topical fruits such as banana, papaya, mango, pineapple and banana. The drying process concentrates all fruit’s sugars, but even more so in the tropical variety that are already very high before the drying process even begins.

Therefore, be sure to eat these particular fruits in moderation if you wish to keep your weight down.

The best dried fruits to eat for weight loss in particular are already those that are the lower to medium sugar fruits before they’re dried, such as those on the list below.

This list also gives the other reasons as to how and why these particular fruits can help you to lose weight when eaten in moderation on a weight loss plan.

1. APRICOTS

dried apricots

Apricots had to come first on this list as they have been dubbed one of the world’s healthiest foods. And when you see their awesome nutritional profile for yourself you will understand why.

Some of their benefits include:-

  • HIGH IN FIBRE – Apricots are very high in the fibre that not only keeps you regular, but also keeps you FULL. This means less room for snacking on the bad stuff and ultimate weight loss.
  • HIGH IN ANTIOXIDANTS – Apricots are high in both vitamin A and C, both of which are antioxidants that can help with weight loss due to the fact they can help speed up your metabolism.
  • RICH IN POLYPHENOLS, FLAVENOIDS AND NUTRIENTS – all of these are high in apricots. Keeping quality nutrients going into the body will stop food cravings as your body will not be starving for nutrition.
  • CAN HELP LOWER INFLAMMATION – Chronic inflammation is rife, often due to our modern diets filled with junk foods, trans fats and unhealthy sugars. Not to mention all those environmental toxins in the air being breathed in every day. Apricots contain powerful catechins that can help to lower this inflammation, thus promoting weight loss in the long term.
  • HIGH IN IRON – Iron helps to boost metabolism, meaning you will burn more calories overall.

2. GOJI BERRIES

dried goji berries

A known super food and for very good reason, goji berries taste delicious and are a perfect low GI snack.

They also offer the following weight loss benefits:-

  • UNIQUE ANTIOXIDANTS – Goji’s contain their own unique antioxidants that cannot be found in any other food.
  • HIGH IN PROTEIN – Goji berries are higher in protein than any other berry and offer an impressive 11 essential amino acids. High protein foods are low GI and fill you up for longer, as do most other high protein plant foods.
  • SELENIUM – An antioxidant that is good for the brain, heart and immune system. Also needed for thyroid health. A healthy thyroid will ultimately help to keep you slim.
  • HAVE A GI OF 29 – Making them the lowest GI fruit to help fill you up, keep you full and help control blood sugar, which of course means weight loss!

3. DATES

dried dates

Dried dates are Nature’s very own chewy and tasty candy and are such a delicious treat it’s hard to believe they are so healthy. But healthy they are, and if you’re having a sugar craving then you can literally blast it into kingdom come with a couple of low GI dates.

In our opinion, Medjool dates are by far the tastiest and well worth paying the extra cash for. Like the goji berry, they are another all round weight loss superfood when eaten in moderation.

They offer all these other great benefits too:-

  • A GREAT TRAINING FOOD – Perfect before, during and after exercise, due to their low GI carbohydrates and sustained energy release. They literally fill you up for hours and also refuel muscles after exercise.
  • HIGH FIBRE – To fill you up and keep your blood sugar stable.
  • MAGNESIUM – Great for soothing anxiety, reducing muscle aches and pains after exercise and easing PMT symptoms.
  • HIGH POTASSIUM – Another reason they are great if you are into fitness. Dates help to restore electrolyte balance in the body.
  • BONE HEALTH – Dates are great for the bones, due to their nutrients of phosphorus and calcium. Keeping bones healthy and strong will keep you more mobile and able to exercise for longer.
  • ANTI INFLAMMATORY
  • HIGH IN ANTIOXIDANTS

4. RAISINS

dried raisins

The raisin is high in sugar. In fact, the highest of all the dried fruits, so therefore must be eaten in moderation (a handful should be considered a portion). However, they do deserve a place on this list due to their astounding health and weight loss benefits.

These include:-

  • HIGH FIBER – Keeping you full and less likely to snack, meaning ultimately weight loss.
  • A HEALTHIER SWEET TREAT – Like the date, raisins are super sweet which makes them good for busting a sugar craving. Only a very small amount is needed for you to feel satiated. They are also much more preferable than reaching for refined sugars that will make you gain weight – specifically belly fat!!
  • REDUCE RISK OF METABOLIC SYNDROME – According to this ncbi study, raisins can lower your BMI, waist circumference, body weight, AND lower your risk of metabolic syndrome and obesity. This is the main reason they can actually be classed as a fat burning food, contrary to popular belief.

5. PRUNES

dried prunes

Prunes get a bad rap due to the fact they are often eaten by the elderly to help them stay regular. But they truly do deserve to be made cool again as they are just SO outrageously healthy.

Be sure to stick to only 1 or 2 at a time as they are high calorie, but as they are very nutrient dense you will still get the benefits eating only this small amount.

Prunes also contain the following weight loss benefits:-

  • VERY HIGH IN ANTIOXIDANTS – Would you believe that prunes are even higher in antioxidants that blueberries? Well it’s true, so this is probably the number one reason why they are a great fat burning and metabolism boosting dried fruit.
  • THEY KEEP YOU REGULAR – Prunes are so high in fiber that they are said to be even better for keeping you regular than psyllium husk. Keeping bowels regular will help to drag impurities and toxins from the body – all of which will contribute to weight loss in the long run.
  • PROVEN TO BOOST WEIGHT LOSS – Prunes have been scientifically proven to have weight loss benefits, due to their effects on satisfying the appetite.

6. APPLE

dried apple rings

They say an apple a day keeps the Doctor away. And very true this could be, considering apples are not only cheap and easily available, but also abundant in health giving nutrition. This goes for the dried ones too! Maybe even more so as they are often harvested and dried at the peak of their nutrition, which is just after picking (and the same goes for all dried fruits).

Apple’s benefits when it comes to weight loss include:-

  • SOLUBLE FIBRE – This is the kind of fibre that helps to control blood sugar. Being as stable blood sugar will help keep your weight down (and we’re talking specifically dangerous belly fat here), then it goes without saying that they are great for weight loss too.
  • INSOLUBLE FIBRE – This kind of fibre keeps the digestive system healthy by dragging impurities out. This in turn helps to keep your body detoxified, thus leading to weight loss.
  • CONTAINS PECTIN – A starch that is associated with feelings of satiety that helps keep you full which stops you snacking or over eating.
  • DECREASE IN LDL CHOLESTEROL – In this six-month study, scientists found that women eating 75 grams of dried apple every day decreased their LDL (bad cholesterol) by 23%. They also lost 3.3 lbs in weight even though they were consuming an extra 240 calories a day in dried apple.

Combining Dried Fruits And Nuts 

As you can see, these fruits are all great on a weight loss diet as a healthy snack. However, they should be eaten instead of the more unhealthy foods that you may usually go for, and definitely not as well as. These fruits are not only very sweet and satiating, but will also give you a hit of energy at the same time, which is all of the things you could want in a snack.

Another great way to eat your dried fruits is combined with some healthy fats and proteins in the form of nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds contain an abundance of these and will also help to lower the GI of the fruits even more. This could potentially boost weight loss even further.

Be wary to only eat nuts and seeds in moderation (which would be a small handful), as they are very high in fats and calories and too many will defeat the object of fat burning.

Other ways to eat more nuts and seeds

mason jar with granola

Why not make your dried fruits more interesting by making a high protein granola for you breakfast, or even an any time of the day snack?

You can add lots of nuts, seeds, oats, buckwheat, or any other low GI grain or seed that you like. Then top it with coconut or soy yogurt, cinnamon, cacao nibs and a nut milk of your choice. Or, just snack on it as it is because its also easy to transport to work or school.

Please check out our easy, homemade POWER muesli that also contains other added fat burning ingredients too. This granola is really tasty and simple to make in big batches. You should always have one of these on the go, as it’s so very versatile you can use up all the unused nuts, seeds and dried fruits in your cupboard.

MEAL PLANS

Thanks for checking out ZestForever today!

Why not try our super SPICY fat burning mix to compliment your weight loss efforts and help you get into shape even faster?

Share this post with your friends.

18 thoughts on “Top 6 Dried Fruits Proven to Boost Weight Loss”

  1. Awesome post! It’s definitely got me thinking. My local supermarket doesn’t carry fruits like apricots, goji berries, or dates so they aren’t staples in my diet. But then again, maybe I’m not really looking for them as I’m not a huge fan of dried fruits anyway. I find that they’re sometimes too sweet, especially raisins. I thought it was just me who thought they were too sugary, but what you said about them being high in sugar makes sense.

    You know something interesting? I think after the dehydration process, it brings out the sugar. Because think about it, with the fruit in its natural state, it has a higher water content, so the sugar is sort of diluted, if that makes sense.

    Anyway, thanks for sharing this great information!

    1. Hey, yes I’m sure they probably would stock most of those fruits at your local supermarket if you looked. Maybe not the goji berries as they are harder to get a hold of, but I,m sure you could get hold of the apricots and dates.

      I just find dried fruits great when you really fancy something sweet as they stop you from going after more unhealthy sweet products, and the fact that some of them actually help you to lose weight is just an added bonus!

  2. I’ve shied away from dried fruits in recent years precisely because of the high sugar content. I hadn’t considered the possibility that there are dried fruits that naturally start out with less sugar. I’ll have to check those out, particularly apricots which I loved as a kid.

    Thanks!

    1. Hi Jon, yes it makes sense that if they start out lower they will be lower in sugar overall. I understand your concerns with dried fruits as many people have them, but as you can see from the list a lot of them are just fantastic for health and even weight loss. I was pretty blown away myself whilst researching this post.

      As for dried apricots, well the are just awesome health foods, and a I do believe they are one of the lowest sugar dried fruits. Their health benefits are vast and they are full of nutrients and beta-carotene. It’s best to try and buy the ones that are dark brown in colour and not the bright orange ones as they have been treated with a chemical that keeps the orange colour. They should naturally go dark brown when they have dried and this is a good thing.

  3. This is a very well written post! Thank you for sharing. I read the High In Protein Granola post as well. I’m definitely going to give it a try, sounds yummy!

  4. Hi Stephanie,

    I do like dried raisins and had no idea that they could be so beneficial reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome. I also like dried fruits of many sorts and blueberries with cereals, really nice combination.

    Thanks for this as I am making my own dried fruits list in order to boost my own weight loss for a healthier me. Looking forward to reading more and I have bookmarked your website for future reference.

    Thanks again Stephanie.

    1. You are very welcome Phil, I’m glad you have gotten something good from the post. Yes, I was pretty astounded by the raisins reducing metabolic syndrome too, but it’s all there in the study. For sure, adding these to your diet will help you with your weight loss efforts when combined with other healthy foods and a lower calorie consumption overall.

      By the way, you should definitely make the homemade granola that I posted the link to at the bottom of the post as you can get all your healthful nuts, seeds, and dried fruits in that and have it as a snack any time of the day. I even grab handfuls of it and eat it alone when I need a quick energy boost.

  5. This is great. I am always looking for foods that have high protein for a snack. I had never heard of Goji Berries. Thanks so much, I will be seeing if I can buy them today at the store.

    1. That’s great Braden, I really hope you can get hold of them, if not you can definitely get them online or in a health food store. I’m certain you will love them as I think they are literally the best tasting fried fruit ever; well that’s my opinion anyway. Good luck!

  6. I love this article. I’m always looking for something healthy to snack on that will help take care of my sweet tooth. Prunes are pretty good. I’ll eat them every once in a while. I have heard different health ‘experts’ say to avoid dried fruits because of the sugar content. A lot of them don’t tell you about the other good stuff they have in them. Those Goji berries sound good. I think I’ll get some and try them. But I have to remember…. moderation!
    Thanks for this info…

    1. Hey Lynn, yes dried fruits are often demonised pretty unfairly and I was probably guilty of this myself before I researched thoroughly for this post, A lot of them are high in sugar and may not be high enough in other health giving nutrients to warrant that high sugar content, but as you can see, the ones on this list are totally worthy.

      Most people, I have noticed, haven’t ever tried goji berries which is a shame as I can honestly say they are the most delicious dried fruit I have ever tried, and probably the most nutritious and lowest in sugar. So if nothing else, I urge you to try them. They are easily available in the UK but I’m not sure of their availability elsewhere in the world which may explain why most people haven’t tried them.

  7. Yes many people think dried fruits are fattening, and they can be if you eat the wrong kind and too many of them. That’s why I have picked out the ones that are actually beneficial to weight loss and still a tasty sweet treat at the same time.

  8. My journey started with looking for psyllium powder on Amazon (I am 4 stone over weight) having started a calorie control diet 6 weeks and lost 1 stone 3 lb in that time I feel the need to obtain a more balanced meal time (I dont want to say diet) as ive been eating oatmeal and fruit and brown bread. Ive looked at lots of sites for information and am bamboozled at the complexity some of them go too to try and sound intelligent but I happened across your writings and honestly it all makes sense and for me (male) that is a huge thing as I have struggled to understand what goes with what and why or who and when so I would like to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart and my high fibre bowl for taking the time to explain what certain foods can do for us. Thank you Stefanie lots of love and hugs from the UK

    1. Hi Neil,

      Thank you so much for taking the time to write this wonderful comment. I’m really touched that you enjoyed the post s much, honestly, you’ve made my day!

      It’s great you have lost so much weight with phyllium. I have used it myself in the past, with good results. Sounds like you’re eating a great diet. I’m glad it’s working for you. I’m in the UK too haha 🙂

  9. Pingback: Best Nice-Cream Recipe EVER! Made With Protein Powder

  10. Pingback: Plant Based Diet for Weight Loss - Here's the Secret

Leave a Comment

LIMITED TIME OFFER: Join the planet friendly plant based diet!

Start today for only $1

Shopping Cart

Go ahead and sign up to our mailing list to get a FREE eBook PLUS our delicious recipes straight to your inbox.
You won't regret it!

Wait! Before You Leave, Grab yourself a FREE Fast & Easy Recipes eBook...

Scroll to Top