Some nutrients are lost in the dehydrating process, but fresh fruit can also lose nutrients just sitting in the grocery store bins, so fruit that was dried immediately at peak ripeness could (at least in theory) contain more nutrients than fresh fruit that is being sold months after being picked (such as some varieties of apples which can be stored for up to a year before being sold). Cold storage of apples helps slow the nutrient loss and allows us to have apples all year 'round, rather than just in the fall.
Because the water is removed, the nutrient (and calorie) content of dried fruits are concentrated, so you have to remember that. A quarter cup of raisins is the calorie equivalent of perhaps 2 cups or more of fresh grapes.
The glycemic index can also be higher (because the sugar is also concentrated).
I love and do eat dried fruit, but I have to think of them as "candy" because they're easier to eat that way. Sure it's candy with a lot of vitamins, but it's easy to eat several hundred calories of dried fruit, because they seem like so much less food.
If you're insulin resistant or diabetic, you may also find that the sugar in dried fruits triggers an insulin response (a sharp rise and then fall in blood sugar as insulin is released - insulin can trigger hunger, so you may find that if you eat dried fruit on an empty stomach, you're hungry again soon after).
Eating dried fruit with a little protein or fat can reduce the insulin response
If you're following a specific diet plan, you need to find out whether dried fruit are treated the same as fresh fruit. For example on Weight Watchers fresh fruit is "free" and doesn't have to be counted, but dried fruit and fruit juices do. This is because fresh fruit is more filling and lower calorie per ounce than dried fruit or fruit juice.
The water and fiber in fresh fruit make it more filling than dried fruit or fruit juice (the juice has the water but not the fiber, and the dried fruit has the fiber but not the water).
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