As the winter season continues, there is one thing that everyone is either eating or thinking of eating, and that is dry fruits. Whether it be the simple and inexpensive mong phali (peanuts), or something more extravagant like the kaju (cashew nuts), everyone is eating or thinking of eating some sort of dry fruit.
But as people go about consuming these dried fruits, the majority never think about how healthy or not healthy these fruits are. While they are all good for your health to some extent, some of them are healthier than others and so should be given greater priority in your day-to-day consumption.
So, in this article, we will tell you about some of the healthier options of dried fruit in Pakistan for you to eat.
Dry Fruits Price
The one thing that everyone wants to know or talk about during any and all conversations about dry fruits is how much they cost or will cost to buy. It is the unfortunate reality of living in Pakistan that the dry fruits price has started to get so out of hand in the last few years that the majority of people do not even consume them.
That is why the dry fruits that we tell you about in this article will not just be healthy for you but be in a more diverse range in terms of price, so people of all economic levels are able to benefit from them.
The Healthiest Dry Fruits
Now let us come to the healthiest dry fruit options for the average person:
Almonds
What better place to start off with on the list of healthiest dried fruit than the one that is already almost stereotypically known as the healthy dry fruit.
The almond, or the badam as it is known locally, has been stated by many parents and elders for a long time in our country to have many benefits, most commonly associated with brain and memory.
But coming more towards the scientific side, are they actually good for your memory? Well, there is a high amount of vitamin E found inside almonds, the highest of any dry fruit, in fact.
Not only is vitamin E a good antioxidant that helps to protect your body from oxidative damage, but it is also known for promoting brain health as well, especially protecting from diseases like Alzheimer’s, which means that it can be good for your brain, although more research is required.
Cashew Nuts
We did say that this article would cover all bases in terms of price, and so here is an opinion on the more expensive side that we still think deserves to be mentioned for how beneficial it is.
The cashew nut is a dry fruit that is imported into our country from places like Sri Lanka and sometimes India and is not produced locally (which is why it is actually one of the most commonly purchased dry fruits online). It is for this reason that the price of cashew nuts is often so high that people are never able to eat them any more than tiny amounts.
A major misconception that is associated with cashew nuts is that they contain a high amount of fat content and thus will make you fat. This is not strictly accurate. While there is a decent amount of fat content in the cashew nut, this fat is mostly unsaturated fat.
What unsaturated fat (polyunsaturated particularly in this case) does is actually help to control the level of cholesterol in your body, which means that it can actually help people with weight issues or those looking to manage their weight.
Walnuts
The third entry on our list of dried fruits is more mid-tier in terms of price point, and that is what is known locally as the Akhrot. Walnuts are one of the most unique-looking dry fruits online Pakistan has to offer in that they are often thought to resemble the human brain.
Walnuts have the highest amount of omega-3 fatty acids out of any other dry fruit that exists. This alone makes them one of the most beneficial dried fruit for you to eat.
One of the biggest benefits of omega-3 fatty acids is in improving the health of your heart, preventing the buildup of plaque on the walls of your arteries, which causes them to harden. Another benefit is that they are known to be beneficial for reducing age-related degradation of your eyesight.
Walnuts are also known to help reduce inflammation. Chronic inflammation is thought to be the root cause of many illnesses, such as heart disease itself, as well as diabetes, cancer, and even Alzheimer’s.
Conclusion
While people often eat dried fruit for snacking or for leisurely reasons, very few people are aware of or actively eat them for their health benefits in Pakistan. Many of the more common dry fruits in Pakistan have health benefits that make them a great addition to your regular everyday diet, and when eaten in moderation, they can improve your health in ways you never may have thought possible.
