Dried Fruit Question

[Stars Daddy]

Our Star Baby, will not hardly eat any fruit unless it is dried. She acts like fresh fruits that are juicy is too messy. She will pick it up to eat it then drop it and shack her feet and wipe her face off and not mess with it anymore. The same fruit dried she loves it. Is it ok to give her some dried fruit as a snack instead of fresh fruit? Her favorite is Banana chips.

[Milo's Mom]

Yes it is ok; however, the key is MODERATION. A treat is exactly that, a treat. Not given every day and when given it is in very small quantities (such as 1 small b-chip or 1/2 of large one). I believe the dried fruits have a concentrated sugar content (or something like that)...too much sugar is not good for them (or us), especially if she needs to loose weight.

[island rehabber]

:goodpost Also you want to make sure the dried fruits do not have sulfur dioxide in them, as many do -- especially those yummy trail mixes. I love the dried pineapple but unless I look for "organic" it always has that stuff in it.

Sulfur dioxide might not sound good enough to eat, but this food preservative does make its way into a number of edibles, including dried fruits such as raisins, dried apricots and prunes. Sulfur dioxide is one type of sulfite, a preservative whose name might be more familiar. Even a small amount of sulfite can wreak health havoc if you're sensitive to it. If you have asthma, sulfite sensitivity or sulfite allergy, eating dried fruits might cause serious health problems, including breathing problems, life-threatening allergy-like symptoms or, in rare cases, death.

[Stars Daddy]

:goodpost Also you want to make sure the dried fruits do not have sulfur dioxide in them, as many do -- especially those yummy trail mixes. I love the dried pineapple but unless I look for "organic" it always has that stuff in it.

Sulfur dioxide might not sound good enough to eat, but this food preservative does make its way into a number of edibles, including dried fruits such as raisins, dried apricots and prunes. Sulfur dioxide is one type of sulfite, a preservative whose name might be more familiar. Even a small amount of sulfite can wreak health havoc if you're sensitive to it. If you have asthma, sulfite sensitivity or sulfite allergy, eating dried fruits might cause serious health problems, including breathing problems, life-threatening allergy-like symptoms or, in rare cases, death.


Her banana chips we dry ourselves with a dehydrator. And have also dried pineapple peaches and apples. She just seems to eat it better dried, other than the apple, and we always thought it was better for her than nuts and would give her 2 or 3 a day along with the couple nuts. As I have mentioned already she stashed most of that. Now we know we can't give her that much anymore. Would it be more healthy to give her the 1 piece of fruit over a nut, With her losing weight? Maybe a 2 or 3 times a week.

[CritterMom]

Honestly, if you were to stick to the "healthier" (which means not as bad as the others!) nuts like an almond or a hazelnut, I think that all in all it is better than fruit, which is basically just sugar. Sugar is what packs the weight on.

[Stars Daddy]

Honestly, if you were to stick to the "healthier" (which means not as bad as the others!) nuts like an almond or a hazelnut, I think that all in all it is better than fruit, which is basically just sugar. Sugar is what packs the weight on.
Ok she loves almonds, do not believe she has ever had a hazelnut. She also likes
hickory nuts and pecans, and acorns. She actually prefers nuts over fruit, other than maybe the banana.

[CritterMom]

The thing with nuts is their ratio of calcium to phosphorus. You try to maintain a general dietary rule of 2 parts of calcium for every 1 part of phosphorus. The HHBs help because they are high enough in calcium to compensate for a little "junk" food. Some nuts are just awful - instead of being 2:1 they are like 1:50! But almonds, haselnuts and acorns aren't too bad - about 1 part calcium to 3 parts phosphorus - not great, but not 1:50, either.

So they should never be part of the staple diet, but the better nuts can certainly be given as treats, to make life worth living!

Since scientists and nutritionists are FINALLY starting to accept the fact that sugar, whether eaten as sugar or as a carbohydrate, is pricipally responsible for most weight problems - yes, SUGAR makes you fat - fat does NOT make you fat - I believe that many of those things can be applied to other mammals as well. sad fact is that fruit REALLY isn't all that good for you...

[Stars Daddy]

The thing with nuts is their ratio of calcium to phosphorus. You try to maintain a general dietary rule of 2 parts of calcium for every 1 part of phosphorus. The HHBs help because they are high enough in calcium to compensate for a little "junk" food. Some nuts are just awful - instead of being 2:1 they are like 1:50! But almonds, haselnuts and acorns aren't too bad - about 1 part calcium to 3 parts phosphorus - not great, but not 1:50, either.

So they should never be part of the staple diet, but the better nuts can certainly be given as treats, to make life worth living!

Since scientists and nutritionists are FINALLY starting to accept the fact that sugar, whether eaten as sugar or as a carbohydrate, is pricipally responsible for most weight problems - yes, SUGAR makes you fat - fat does NOT make you fat - I believe that many of those things can be applied to other mammals as well. sad fact is that fruit REALLY isn't all that good for you...

I am not no expert on squirrels diet at all and I am sure what you are telling me is the facts for a squirrel. And I will do all I can to make sure Star gets on the right track. She is handling it all pretty good so far. You can tell she does not understand why I will not give her a treat when she is begging for it, but I hope soon she will get out of that begging routine and just be happy when I give her a treat.

Me as a person, I am EXTREAMLY over weight. So I have been reading a lot about different diets, and nutrition and a lot of what you said is true, but what I have read every person absorbs and handles different things differently. Some people can eat the type of sugars that is in fruit and lose weight no problem and others cannot. Some people can eat fats and lose weight no problem and others can't. Then there is people like me that can't eat either if they want to lose weight. People like that usually can only lose weight with a lot of exercise and a very strict diet. Needles to say I have way too much going on too spend 2 to 3 hours a day in the gym, and do not really like raw veggies and baked fish. So I have just accepted the fact I will be Obese until I have time to exercise on a regular basis and learn to live on salad and baked fish.

[farrelli]

Have you tried vegetarianism, or veganism? I;ve been a vegetarian for about 25 years now, tending toward veganism and I've RARELY met anyone with this diet who's fat. I have a family history towards that, and I was fat as a child, now I'm quite slim and have been all my adult life. And I have the cholesterol of an infant, though heart disease also runs in the family (50% more than "excellent" good cholesterol, 50% less than "excellent" bad cholesterol). Eating meat is not only cruel and unnecessary, it's unhealthful. And as far as taste, I might point out that meat is economically "expensive", so most cultures have had very little to none of it in their diet, and as such, most cuisines in history have evolved around a vegetarian diet. Indian food, for example, is ancient and considered some of the most flavorful in the known world, but is traditionally meat-free.

You're apparently good people, so you shouldn't wait until a distant future when you have all the time in the world to count calories and work out all day. The world, and your squirrel, could use you here.

[Stars Daddy]

Have you tried vegetarianism, or veganism? I;ve been a vegetarian for about 25 years now, tending toward veganism and I've RARELY met anyone with this diet who's fat. I have a family history towards that, and I was fat as a child, now I'm quite slim and have been all my adult life. And I have the cholesterol of an infant, though heart disease also runs in the family (50% more than "excellent" good cholesterol, 50% less than "excellent" bad cholesterol). Eating meat is not only cruel and unnecessary, it's unhealthful. And as far as taste, I might point out that meat is economically "expensive", so most cultures have had very little to none of it in their diet, and as such, most cuisines in history have evolved around a vegetarian diet. Indian food, for example, is ancient and considered some of the most flavorful in the known world, but is traditionally meat-free.

You're apparently good people, so you shouldn't wait until a distant future when you have all the time in the world to count calories and work out all day. The world, and your squirrel, could use you here.

I do not question anything you are saying because I am sure you are right. I am too old to change from not eating meat, guess to stuck in my ways. I will not sit down at the table if there is not meat on it. I was raised that way and it is just imbedded into me. I am sure it would be much healthier, but at my age I guess I am more about eating what I like. I like veggies and eat them all the time, but meat is just part of the meal I like best. I have cut almost all the fried meats out and very little red meat although I will eat a steak occasionally.