How many pieces of Nuts and Dried Fruit should be eaten per day?

How many Nuts per day?

30 g of nuts per day, that is the ideal quantity. 

This is the conclusion of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that showed that consuming 30 g of nuts per day can lead to an extended life span. The study was done by looking at two of the largest American cohorts (around 119,000 adults, 65% of whom were women) who have been followed for 30 years. At the end of the observation period, it was noted that the consumption of nuts was inversely associated with the mortality rate linked to all main causes (cardiovascular pathologies, diseases of the respiratory system, and cancers).

In particular, people who ate at least 7 servings of nuts per week (about 28-30 g per day) had a mortality rate 30 years after the start of the observation that was 20% lower than those who did not consume them. Being a study based only on the observation of people, it is not possible to reach certain conclusions on the relationship between mortality and nut consumption, but the results obtained so far seem to confirm the positive effect of nuts on our health. Nuts do not contain cholesterol, have minimal levels of saturated fats, and a high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids; they are also rich in vitamins, minerals, phytosterols, flavonoids and carotenoids.

Despite their beneficial characteristics, walnuts are still a food which is energy-dense and has a high fat content, so it's essential not to overdo it. The average daily portion (30 g) recommended by international guidelines, in particular by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration), falls within the food plan without generating particular imbalances.

How many nuts are in 30 g?

At Nuturally (the online shop with over 120 natural Nuts and Dried Fruit), we have thought of a useful tool for assessing whether you are eating the right amount of nuts. In the table below you can find a measure of how many pieces of our products weigh 30 g so that you can eat the right quantity even without having a scale nearby:  

How much Dried Fruit per day?

40 g of dried fruit per day, that is the ideal quantity.

The US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and international guidelines recommend consuming up to 40 g of dried fruit per day.

How much dried fruit is in 40 g?

As for the dried fruit, it is just fresh fruit with its water removed. This treatment decreases the fruit's volume, increases its preservation time, and makes it possible to concentrate its nutrients, thereby making it an excellent fast healthy snack to always have on you. As it is in the concentrated form of fresh fruit, dried fruit is rich in fibre, sugars, minerals, vitamins and compounds with an antioxidant effect (flavonoids and carotenoids).

When consuming dried fruit, however, it is essential to pay attention to dosage. The mistake that we tend to make is comparing fresh fruit and dried fruit of the same weight. 100 g of dried fruit have a significantly higher calorie content than 100 g of fresh fruit. By removing the liquids, the sugars naturally contained in the ripe fruit become concentrated. This is why dried fruit has a higher calorie content than the same amount of fresh produce.

How many pieces of Nuturally dried fruit are equivalent to 40 g? Below our summary table, even if in this case measurements vary greatly so it's more difficult to come up with the exact number of pieces:  

LARN DATA UPDATE

According to the LARN (Reference Intake Levels of Nutrients and Energy for the Italian population) in its most recent version (IV Revision), the ‘Nuts' category includes both sugary 'dried fruits' (e.g. raisins, figs, apricots, dates etc.) and nuts (e.g. walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pine nuts, pistachios and peanuts) and oilseeds (e.g. sunflower, sesame and pumpkin) and the daily reference dosage for all three categories is always 30 g. (Source: https://sinu.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/20141111_LARN_Porzioni.pdf)

Source:

Silvia Marconi, MA in Health Biology