If you are craving for something sweet, crispy outside and soft inside, why don’t you try dates instead of stuffing your stomach with the high-calorie snacks or desserts? This dark fruit has been known for a very long time ago for its great benefits for health and studies have made the proof. There is no reason for not eating dates daily because they are packed with a huge list of nutrition.
Dates Nutritions
Potassium
Lacking of potassium is not good for your body as this condition can damage your kidney, bones and heart. Especially if your daily meals containing high level of sodium, you obviously must provide your body with potassium to make a mineral balance. Reduce your sodium intake and get more potassium would be better for your health. Just eat six pitted dates in medium size has already offered 6 percent of required potassium intake daily.
Fiber
The type of fiber contained in dates is the soluble one. Consuming soluble fiber is great for regulating high blood pressure and blood glucose. You can get around 3 grams of fiber from only ¼ cup of dates, either fresh or dried. Fiber can also maintain your digestive system’s health while keeping your fullness longer. If you are on a diet, eating dates can be a great idea because they prevent you from carving those unhealthy desserts.
Magnesium
Another mineral contained in dates is magnesium, which is helpful in maintaining your bones and teeth formation. Combined with magnesium and calcium, this mineral can keep your heart beat normal and it is great for keeping you away from many diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. Get six dates a day and 5.8 percent of your required magnesium intake can be fulfilled.
Antioxidants
Both dried and fresh dates contain a high level of antioxidants, carotenoids and anthocyanins. If you eat the dried versions, you can also find polyphenol, which is also a kind of antioxidant. So you can just mix your dates to combine all the antioxidant types. Mix both fresh and dried dates to eat daily can be a great idea. Antioxidant is very helpful in preventing some diseases as it can neutralize the free radicals in our body and protect your health from the environmental issues.
Zero Cholesterol
Dates are truly sweet, but they don’t have any kinds of cholesterol. So if you love sweet treats, you can just eat them without having to worry about the calories. Mix them with your favorite cookie recipe or desserts can be a good idea too.
Good Sugar
Eating sugar too much is not good, but limit the sugar intake is sometime shard to do. Sugar provides energy your body need for doing all the activities daily. Containing good sugar, dates can boost your energy, keeping you energized all day.
Dates have a lot of nutrient, so health Benefits of Dates for human body have a proven evidence with this nutritions. Here are some dates benefits :
1. Controlling Blood Pressure
Health benefits of dates for human body which play important role is for controlling blood pressure. Its richness of potassium makes this super fruit excellent in controlling blood pressure since this mineral can make electrolyte in your body equalized. With the combination of magnesium, these two minerals help you maintain your normal blood pressure and prevent some high blood pressure-related diseases.
2. Lowering Cholesterol
Since dates are free cholesterol, eating them won’t add more weight or cholesterol to your body. They are also great in diminishing triglycerides amount. With lower cholesterol, the risk of heart disease, strokes and other cholesterol-related diseases can be reduced. The relation of eating dates with reduced stroke risk has been shown by researches by showing that consuming 100 milligrams of magnesium is the same as reducing 10 percent of stroke risk. Since dates contain magnesium, you can simply eat them and get the benefits.
3. Supporting Healthy Heart
Being rich in potassium, as has been mentioned above, dates are already great for the heart by keeping the LDL cholesterol low and preventing heart disease from coming. Simply eating this super fruit twice a week can help supporting your heart health. Moreover, weak hearts can be strengthened by consuming crushed dates that had been soaked overnight before. Do this in the morning and weak heart can be improved. Heart disease is closely related with cholesterol, so if you want your heart to be healthy, watch your cholesterol. Dates are free from cholesterol, but rich of potassium, which can increase the HDL level.
4. Gaining Weight
Obesity is a problem, but too slim is another kind of problem. Both of them can lead to some health-related diseases. So the best weight is actually the normal one. While reducing weight is a daunting task, gaining weight provides the same challenges. Mane people stuck with their diet plan because they don’t know how to stuff their body with more weight without the fats and cholesterol. An easy way to help you gain weight can be done by eating dates since they provide 3,000 calories for every one kilogram. Containing sugar, vitamins and proteins, dates can effectively help you gain weight. It is said that combining dates and cucumber leads to a great gaining weight result. Eat ten dates a day and you can supply your body with around 230 calories along with the minerals and vitamins carried in the fruit.
5. Maintaining Digestive Health
You can find both insoluble and soluble fiber from dates depending on the type of dates you are consuming. These fiber types can help maintaining regular bowel movement that leads to healthy digestive system. Moreover, there is also amino acid in this fruit to support the health of the digestive tract. The gastrointestinal system can be also cleaned using fiber so that your colon becomes more efficient in working. This condition prevents your colon from cancer and other disorders. To support your digestive system better, you can firstly soak your dates before chewing them. Do this daily to keep you away from constipation.
6. Curing Constipation
If you have been struggling with constipation and feeling discomfort, now you can find the solution from dates. This fruit is a form of laxative when it is consumed properly. Don’t eat it directly, but soak it in water overnight first and eat it in the next morning. Do this every morning to cure your constipation. Also, the soluble fiber in dates can lead the water in your body to the digestive tract and it results in relieving constipation. So you don’t have to deal with some modern medicines, just go with a more natural one for curing your constipation.
7. Strengthening Bones
This dark brown fruit is rich in many kinds of minerals your bones require such s manganese, magnesium, selenium and copper. You need all of them to keep your bone healthy and prevent bone-related problems like osteoporosis. As you are aging, your bones are weaker so you should keep them well strengthened by eating the proper foods.
8. Maintaining Healthy Nervous System
The nervous system needs potassium since this mineral is also needed by the brain, which is related with the nervous system. Dates are rich in potassium, so they are very appropriate for helping you maintain the health of your nervous system while keeping them work properly. Young or old, you need to nutrition your nervous system. Older people tend to have unsupported nervous system while younger people need to maintain its health for preventing some problems when they are older. Being low in sodium and rich in potassium makes dates are an excellent booster for the nervous system.
9. Relieving Diarrhea
Still about potassium, which is a really important mineral for your health, is the reason why dates are also great for curing diarrhea. It has been mentioned above that dates are good for constipation, but surprisingly this can also address diarrhea too. Get some ripe dates and you can treat your diarrhea. This fruit is digestible and its soluble fiber can help the excretory system function better.
10. Treating Anemia
Anemia is a condition where the amount of red blood cells in the blood low. One of anemia causes is iron deficiency since iron plays a very important role to your blood health. Since you are lacking of iron, then the best solution is to fulfill your body with iron by eating iron-rich foods like dates. This natural remedy can help you treat anemia since it provides high amount of iron. This is why anemia patients are suggested to eat dates for boosting the iron level and addressing the anemia. Anemia makes the sufferers feel exhausted and weak, but dates can boost their energy with the iron and sugar. So if you are suffering from anemia, get this natural remedy and you can feel better.
11. Curing Intestinal Disorders
Dates contain nicotine that can relieve intestinal disorders. Consuming dates regularly can improve the friendly bacteria growth in the intestines while inhibiting the pathological organisms. Moreover, the fiber content combined with amino acids can help the foods and nutrients better digested and absorbed.
12. Boosting Brain Health
Health benefits of dates for brain also have vital role. The relation between vitamin B6 and brain’s health has been shown in some studies and it makes dates one of the brain boosters you can easily eat since they are containing this vitamin. When you eat dates, the brain get its required nutrition and it results with better functioning of the brain.
13. Addressing Night Blindness
Dates are more than just good for your brain, digestive system and health, but they are also good for your eyes. It is even said by the American Cancer Society that eating dates daily can maintain the health of your eyes. Night blindness, as one of eye problems can be also addressed and reduced by eating dates or using the leaves to rub on the eyes. So not only eating, you can also turn the leaves into paste to reduce night blindness.
15. Preventing Abdominal Cancer
There are some types of abdominal cancer including bowel cancer, stomach cancer, renal cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer. Some symptoms that can indicate these cancers, although they might be symptoms of other illnesses too, are losing appetite, anemia, fever, vomiting and nausea, loosened bowels, short breath, itchy skin, ingestion pain, stomach pain, bowel issues, sex drive lacking, abdomen swelling, and pale skin.
Someone can’t be indicated suffering abdominal cancer without checking to the doctor and getting diagnosed so when these symptoms come, go check your health condition first. Eating dates can prevent abdominal cancer because this fruit is easy to digest and it provides tonic for the body. It provides energy with natural ingredients and numerous nutrients. It is an all-natural, healthy energy booster to keep your body healthy.
16. Providing Nutrients during Pregnancy
During pregnancy, women should face challenging days with bloated stomach, intestinal problems or even bowel problems. These symptoms can be relieved by eating dates due to its richness of nutrients. Also, the high level of iron in dates can prevent pregnant women from getting anemia. The muscles of the uterus and mother’s milk can be improved as well.
The risk of hemorrhage can be also reduced for newborn babies. Dates’ nutrition can increase the intelligence and memory of the unborn child, so mother should eat dates for providing the required nutrients. Moreover, a study showed that eating dates four weeks before labor can help an easier delivery outcome and provide the induction need. The result might not be significant, but there is an effect and relation between eating dates and favorable delivery outcomes. After pregnancy, eating dates can help in weight loss so getting back to your ideal weight is possible.
17. Assessing Weight Loss
The high amount of fiber in dates is very helpful in assessing diet because fiber can keep the fullness in your stomach longer. Moreover, when you are craving for sweet treats, simply take some dates and eat them. They are no cholesterol and fat, high in calories, so they can prevent you from eating high-sugar foods without increasing the bad cholesterol level in your body. They can be used as snacks between meals to keep you full before lunch or dinner. You can also add them to your favorite no-fat dishes. Also, dates are high in good sugar to keep you boosted and energized all day.
Tips Consuming Dates
1. Stuffed Dates
Eating dates directly is very simple and easy, but sometimes you might need to improve the taste of your date by stuffing the dates with nuts or cheese. A combination of almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans or pistachios can balance the sweetness of dates, making it smooth, but in the flesh and crunchy in the inside. You can just put roasted nuts inside replacing the pits and dip the dates in melted dark chocolate for covering the dates fully and refrigerate. You can also roll the coated chocolate dates on roasted sesame seeds to make them tastier. The result would be incredible. Play with the stuff if you want the dates to be more delicious.
2. Dates Juice
Turn dates into milkshake is all healthy. Just combine them with whole milk and shake. The result would be thick, creamy and sweet. It would be better if the blender is strong to let the dates crushed completely. Now you don’t need to add sugar to your milkshake since the natural sugar is already in the dates. This is also a good idea for breaking the fasting in Ramadan.
3. Dates for Desserts
Including dates in cakes, cookies or cupcakes recipes is really fun. They can add natural sweetness to your dessert without additional fat or cholesterol. You can simply chop them and mix together with the other ingredients or you can also sprinkle the chopped nuts over your desserts, and then bake.
4. Dates Paste
If you love sweet, but you are afraid of the increasing blood glucose, make your own natural sweetener with dates by combining it with water, a pinch of salt, lemon juice and lemon zest. This is a simple recipe that you can do and this paste can be used for a week in the freezer. Add this to your cereal, oatmeal or milk to make them naturally sweeter.
Dates Side Effects
1. Fructose Intolerance
Dates are all healthy and natural, but some people can’t withstand to fructose, so they might not be able eating dates. When you are suffering from fructose intolerance, your body can’t absorb fructose properly so that bloated stomach and diarrhea can happen. It also happens to other kinds of sweet fruits or foods.
2. Diarrhea
Since dates are rich in fibers, eating too much dates can lead to diarrhea. Your body can’t take too much fiber because it helps the ease of excretion. You only need to consume enough amount of fiber, which means you shouldn’t overeat dates.
Dates are truly, completely, obviously healthy. They are easy to consume, dried or fresh and they provides many health benefits. However, still, you should watch out the intake to avoid getting diarrhea from the high level of fiber in the fruits. Now you can have healthier snacks during meals and it is even Sunnah for Muslims to break fasting with dates since they can boost the energy after a long day fasting and they can make the stomach full.