If you are searching for fibre, copper or potassium, then dates are the answer to it. Dates are rich in many essential nutrients and consequently offer many health benefits.
It is the product of the date palm and is cultivated since around 6000 B.C. Dates comes in various varieties and is also one of the sweetest fruits around. The fruit is usually dried like the raisins and plums, even though it can be eaten raw. However, the dates, even if it is fresh or dry, the health benefits it provides is plentiful.
Nutritional Content Of Dates
The following nutritional data describes some of the key nutrients seen in dates and is based on a 100g portion of the fruit.
Fibre – 6.7 grams. 27% RDA.
Vitamin B6 – 0.2 milligrams. 12% RDA.
Copper – 0.4 milligrams. 18% RDA.
Manganese – 0.3 milligrams. 15% RDA.
Potassium – 696 milligrams. 20% RDA.
Magnesium – 54 milligrams. 14% RDA.
However, dates are high in sugar content. It has 66.5 grams sugar per 100 gram portion of the fruit. Even when the sugar is being eaten from fruit, it is suggested to reduce sugar consumption as much as possible.
The Known Health Advantages Of Dates – What The Date Fruit Has To Offer
When you compare dates with other fruits like Kiwi or Sesame Seeds, you will not be able to call it a nutrient powerhouse. However, it does offer health benefits along with great taste.
Let us look into the health benefits of dates:
1. Promotes Digestive Health and relieves Constipation
–
–
Fiber is necessary for improving colon health and also for regular bowel movements. The soluble and insoluble fibre present in dates help to clean the gastrointestinal system, enabling the colon to work at greater levels of performance. Some other advantages relating to fibre and colon health are decreased risks of colon cancer, colitis and even hemorrhoids.
2. Boosting Heart Health
–
–
Fibre is also known to increase heart health other than promoting colon health,
3. Anti-Inflammatory
–
–
Magnesium is a mineral which is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. This mineral is present in dates. One of the studies found that increased intake of Magnesium reduced the inflammatory indicators in the body such as IL6 (interleukin 6), CRP (C-reactive protein) and TNF (tumour necrosis factor alpha). Other than that, inflammation in the arterial walls was also reduced with the intake of magnesium.
Magnesium can completely decrease the risk of arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease and other inflammation-related health diseases.
4. Reduced Blood Pressure
–
–
Magnesium has properties which help in lowering blood pressure. And again, dates are loaded with the mineral. Other than that, Potassium is another mineral in dates that has numerous functions within the body. It helps with the proper functioning of the heart and contribute to reducing blood pressure.
5. Reduced Stroke Risk
–
–
After assessing seven studies published over a 14 year period, researchers found that there was a 9% reduced stroke risk for every 100 milligrams of magnesium consumed by a person every day. The research can be seen in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
6. A Healthy Pregnancy and Delivery
There was a study conducted by the researchers at the University of Science and Technology, who set out to discover how the date fruit affected labour parameters and delivery results.
They studied around 69 women for a year and a month and found that consumption of dates in the last four weeks before labour considerably reduced the need for initiation and development of labour, and presented a more positive, but non-significant, delivery result.
7. Boosting Brain Health
–
–
One of the studies in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that adequate vitamin B6 levels are linked with improved brain performance and excellent test scores.
Dates Are Great For Weight loss, Relieving constipation, supporting regular bowel movements, Reducing heart disease risk, Promoting heart health, Iron-deficiency anaemia, Diarrhea, Impotence, Reducing blood pressure, Chronic conditions such as arthritis, Preventing colon cancer, Pregnancy deliveries, Promoting respiratory and digestive health, Reducing colitis risk and Hemorrhoid prevention
