Canned Fruit Nutrition

Never mind that single apple to keep the doctor away; people should be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, Fruits and Veggies Matter says. Fresh fruit, however, is not always so easy to come by. It's often expensive, out-of-season and has a very brief shelf life. You can opt for cheaper and longer lasting fruit, in any season, while retaining healthy benefits with canned fruit.

Benefits

Canned fruit still retains many of the health benefits of fresh fruit, Hopkins Technology notes. Fruits are generally good sources of carbohydrates, fiber, an array of vitamins and minerals and a bit of protein. Many have a very small amount of fat or no fat whatsoever. According to Self Nutrition Data, a 1-cup portion of canned pineapple, for example, still packs a healthy punch with plenty of vitamin C, thiamin, manganese, a scant 2 mg of sodium and absolutely no cholesterol.

Syrup

While fruits retain many of their nutritional benefits regardless of how they are packed, you add unnecessary calories if you go for fruit packed in heavy syrup, Self Nutrition Data points out. Opting for pineapple packed in heavy syrup instead of water more than doubles the calories. The 1-cup serving of canned pineapple has 79 calories if packed in water, 131 calories if packed in a light syrup, 149 calories if packed in juice and 198 in heavy syrup. The same holds true for other types of canned fruits and fruit cocktails.

Detriments

Canned fruit is still a healthy snack, but it does have a few detriments when compared to its fresh version, Nutrition Action says. The canning process reduces a bit of the vitamin content. Canned fruits such as pears and peaches also have a lower fiber content than their fresh counterparts because they have been stripped of the high-fiber peel. One more detriment may be an additive not even listed on the label called Bisphenol-A, Fooducate warns.

Bisphenol-A

Bisphenol-A, commonly known as BPA, is a chemical similar to estrogen used in metal cans and plastic bottles, Fooducate reports. It also contaminates 92 percent of foods found in metal cans, says a May 2010 study conducted by 19 environmental groups known as the National Workgroup of Safe Markets. High levels of BPA alter prostate cell development and cause aggression in animals. Hugh Taylor, an obstetrician at Yale University School of Medicine, also told USA Today that BPA can alter the development of unborn babies and warned pregnant women to refrain from eating canned foods.

Misconceptions

Don't grab for that "lite" canned pineapple and automatically expect it will be very low in calories, the Hopkins Technology article says. The words "light" or "lite" on canned fruit is not referring to the calorie content, but rather the density of the syrup. Also don't expect canned fruit to last forever, MayoClinic.com warns. Canned fruits do have an expiration date and, because of their high-acid content, only stay fresh for about 18 months