Raisins: healthy snack or not?

[mumofthreekids]

I've always thought of raisins as a healthy snack. But recently one of my friends said they contain so much sugar that you 'may as well give your kids sweets'. Is this really true?

They do have a lot of sugar and can be bad for teeth, but they're still healthier than sweets.

They are sticky & tend to get stuck in the pits of the teeth, hence the issue with the sugar content.

I would still have mine have raisins than a bag of sweets of sweets though. As long as you have a good oral hygiene routine they are no worse than sweets.

I think they are actually worse for your teeth than sweets because they stick to your teeth and so the sugar stays on them longer. They are mostly sugar (look at the packet if you don't believe me). BUT they do contain a bit of fibre and probably a trace of vit C. I think the only reason that they are better than sweets is that children don't like them so much so eat less of them!

They're sugary and pretty high calorie but they're a good source of fibre and nutrients. 'Healthy' is a very subjective term when it comes to food. One food on its own is not as important as where it fits into the bigger picture and the only certainty is that if you don't eat anything at all, you die. There no bad foods, only bad diets.

there is a difference between refined sugar and sugar found in fruit. Neither should be had in large quantaties but if you can give fruit it is a far better quality of food stuff than a sticky bun or sweets.

Fruits and dried fruits will have numerous vitamins, minerals and roughage
example

sweets and sticky buns will have sugar

health benifit of rasins here

Great! I have just eaten some Chocolate raisins .
Chocolate is said to boost your mood so a good combination although probably not great for teeth!

The dentist who came to talk to our postnatal group said they're good to eat but should be eaten with a meal and not as a snack because they stimulate high levels of acid in the mouth.

Same with fruit juice - good for you, but best taken with a meal.

I used to work for a dentist - she gave her ds bread sticks and raisins as a snack!

Black chocolate is the best of the sweets you'll be pleased to hear doesn't stay on the teeth very long and not acidic.

Oh God I used to give my daughter (now 13) raisins and dried mango in place of sweets and biscuits, thinking I was doing the right thing. She was fit as a fiddle and never got ill, but when I took her to the dentist at 3, she needed 4 fillings and an extraction. I can't tell you how guilty I felt. She had no sweet drinks or bottles, so I can only think it's because the dried fruit was so sticky. I was utterly horrified. The dentists I saw said the only snacks that are ok for teeth are cheese and fresh fruit/veg. I just wish I'd realised at the time. Don't want to alarm anyone, and I know opinion between dentists differs, but I strongly advise caution with dried fruit.