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Like the topic states, I've recently added a tablespoon of raisins to my oatmeal every morning for breakfast, is this alright? I looked up raisins on the internet right now out of curiosity and found out they are 60% sugar by weight, most of which is fructose (straight off wikipedia) However, they are high in antioxidants.

The antioxidants is fine, but should I be concerned about the sugar? Only reason I tossed them in was to change the taste, my breakfast is the same everyday, oatmeal with banana mashed into it.

And while on the discussion of dried fruit, whats the opinion on dates? Another high in sugar, but high in vitamin C as well, good or bad?

Just about any dried fruit is going to be fairly high in sugar, due to the concentration from getting rid of the water. Grapes would probably be better than raisins, but you know, you don't have to sit down and eat a great big bowl of them. Some sprinkled on oatmeal or in yogurt (the plain stuff) isn't going to be all that harmful, and actually might be a good thing. All things in moderation.
Just my opinion
Tim

I eat raisins in my oatmeal. It sweetens the oatmeal but it's better than sugar and there is no insulin spike. Any dried fruit or berries would work.

Great! Cause As much as I love oatmeal and mashed banana, I got a bit of a sweet tooth and its good to know raisins are a 'healthier' sweet.

I use freezed berries in my oatmeal, it's very tasty and is a 'better' choice than raisins/bananas carb-wise. It also adds more flavor to hot oatmeal than bananas or raisins can.

Frozen berries? Yeah I got some, and you say they are better than bananas? Any reason in particular? This is my meal right after workout, don't know if it will make a difference.

The carbs in berries are much more complex than in other fruits, the berries themselves contain a lot more anti-oxidants, bioflavonoids (right spelling?) and other essential nutrients. But I use it with oatmeal for breakfast not post-workout. Post-workout you'd rather have a whey-shake with a banana than oatmeal with berries since the carbs in the banana are very simple and the protein in oatmeal and berries doesn't have a high biological value (% used in human bodies).

Correct.

I've been throwing raisins in my oatmeal forever. It actually makes that snack enjoyable. (I read that Lou Ferrigno eats oatmeal with raisins two to three times a day as his snack.)

Don't do things because a bodybuilder does it. Lou was 6' 4" @ 275#. He needed about 7000 calories to sustain his mass.