Tu Bishvat is Coming: How to Maintain Health with Festive Fruits

They are colorful, enticing, and sweet, and every year new varieties hit the market that we perceive as a huge miss if we don't try them all. So how do you keep your weight in check during the most beautiful holiday of the year? Here are some tips for those who want to enjoy the holiday and maintain their health.

1. Tu Bishvat in moderation - There's no need to fill your home with all types of dried fruits available in the market. If you're hosting, buy a small quantity and a few types. It's recommended to purchase mainly nuts, as they are rich in nutritional content like vitamins, minerals, protein, fat, dietary fibers, and relatively low in carbohydrates.
2. Smart purchasing - If you choose to buy fruits, make sure to buy them packaged and not loose, as loose ones might accumulate mold that contains aflatoxins, increasing cancer risk. Additionally, since some products on the market are prepared with heat and dipped in sulfur dioxide to prevent browning, it's advisable to boil the fruits in water for a minute, drain, rinse, dry, and store in an airtight container.
3. Healthy meal - Instead of serving snacks solely based on dried fruits, incorporate dried fruits into a healthy meal. Slice dried plums, apricots, or figs into small pieces and sprinkle a tablespoon or two into a green salad. To make the salad even tastier and healthier, you can add walnuts or a tablespoon of ground flaxseeds, which contain omega-3 fatty acids that help reduce the risk of heart disease. Also, the fat (obviously dressed with olive oil) slows sugar absorption in the blood, as do the fibers in the vegetables.
4. Not just dried - Include fresh fruits in the dried fruit bowl as well. Fresh fruit will satisfy you much more than dried fruit because it is richer in liquids and is healthier. It contains many vitamins like C, A, and B, which are almost entirely destroyed in the drying process. Additionally, it's recommended to prefer strawberries as a low-carbohydrate fruit compared to others.
5. Damage control - If you couldn't resist the temptation of dried fruits and nuts and overindulged, there are ways to minimize the damage. Studies show that people who lose weight and incorporate physical activity maintain their weight much better than those who don't include physical activity in their diets. By the way, it takes a half-hour walk to burn off 2 dried apricots.
6. Water, water, water - It's important to stay hydrated. Our sense of thirst isn't well developed, and often we eat instead of drinking. Keep a bottle of water with you and drink every time you feel like snacking. Don't wait for the feeling of thirst. Water also helps in the process of fat burning and weight loss.

Here's information on the calorie and carbohydrate contents of various dried fruits so you can make a nutritional judgment in choosing them:

Do dried fruits have any benefits? For diabetics and pre-diabetics, it's important to consider the high sugar concentration in dried fruits. However, it's recommended to check how each affects blood sugar levels using a non-invasive glucose monitor, to understand the impact. Also, dried fruits are rich in potassium and dietary fibers and low in sodium. If small quantities and tips are adhered to, the benefits can be enjoyed.

Adina Bachar is a clinical dietitian at DMC Center for Diabetes Care.