What are Dates and where they come from?
Dates are the fruit of the date palm tree, which grows in many tropical parts of the world. In the past few years, dates have become very popular. Before we get into the further article, our company is dates supplier and also extra virgin olive oil exporters online.
Almost every date sold in the West is dried.
From how they look, you can tell if dates have been dried or not. If their skin is wrinkled, it means they are dry, but if it is smooth, it means they are fresh.
Fresh dates range in size and color from small and bright red to small and bright yellow, depending on the type. The most common kinds of dates to eat are Medjool and Deglet Noor.
Dates are chewy and taste sweet. They also have a lot of important nutrients and can be used in many different ways.
This article will talk about 5 ways that eating dates is good for your health and how to add them to your diet.
Health Benefits of Dates:
Very Nutrition:
Dates have an excellent nutrition profile.
Because they are dried, they have more calories than fresh fruit. Dates have about the same number of calories as other dried fruits like raisins and figs.
Dates get most of their calories from carbs. The rest comes from a tiny bit of protein. Dates are high in calories, but they also have some important vitamins and minerals and a lot of fibre.
The following nutrients are found in a 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving:
- Calories: 277
- Carbs: 75 gm
- Fiber: 7 gm
- Protein: 2 gm
- 20% of the RDI for potassium
- 14% of the RDI for magnesium
- 18% of the RDI is Copper
- 15% of the RDI is manganese.
- 5% of the RDI for iron
- 12% of the RDI for vitamin B6
Dates also have a lot of antioxidants, which may be a reason why they are good for your health.
Loaded with Fiber:
It’s important for your health to get enough fiber.
Dates are a great way to get more fiber in your diet because a 3.5-ounce serving has almost 7 gm of fiber.
Fiber is good for your digestive health because it keeps you from getting constipated. It helps make stool, which helps people have regular bowel movements.
In one study, 21 people who ate 7 dates every day for 21 days had more bowel movements and went to the bathroom more often than they did when they didn’t eat dates.
Also, the fiber in dates may help keep blood sugar under control. Fiber may help keep blood sugar levels from rising too high after a meal by slowing down digestion.
Because of this, dates have a low glycemic index (GI), which measures how quickly your blood sugar goes up after eating a certain food.
Full of Antioxidants that Fight Disease:
Dates are full of antioxidants, which are good for your health in many ways, like lowering your risk of getting sick.
Antioxidants protect your cells from free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can cause bad reactions in your body and lead to disease.
Dates seem to have the most antioxidants compared to other types of fruit like figs and dried plums.
Here’s a look at the three most powerful antioxidants found in dates:
Flavonoids:
Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants that may help reduce inflammation and have been studied for their potential to lower the risk of diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and some types of cancer.
Carotenoids:
Carotenoids have been shown to be good for the heart, and they may also lower the risk of eye problems like macular degeneration.
Phenolic Acid:
It has anti-inflammatory properties and may help lower the risk of cancer and heart disease.
Could be Good for Brain Health:
Eating dates might help the brain work better.
Researchers have found that dates can help lower inflammatory markers in the brain, such as interleukin 6 (IL-6). Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s are more likely to happen if you have a lot of IL-6 in your body.
Dates have also been shown to help reduce the activity of amyloid beta proteins, which can cause plaques to form in the brain.
Plaques that build up in the brain can make it hard for brain cells to talk to each other, which can lead to brain cell death and Alzheimer’s disease.
One study on animals found that mice who ate food with dates in it had much better memories, learned more quickly, and showed less anxiety than mice who didn’t eat them.
Dates may be good for the brain because they contain anti-inflammatory antioxidants like flavonoids.
But more research on humans is needed to prove that dates are good for brain health.
Could Help with Natural Labor:
Dates have been studied to see if they can help start or speed up labor in late-term pregnant women.
If you eat these fruits during your last few weeks of pregnancy, it may help your cervix open up and reduce the need for induction of labor. They may also help cut down on work time.
In one study, 69 women who ate 6 dates every day for 4 weeks before their due date were 20% more likely to go into labor on their own and had much shorter labors than women who didn’t eat dates.
In another study of 154 pregnant women, those who ate dates were much less likely to have their labors sped up than those who didn’t.
In a third study, 91 pregnant women who ate 70–76 gm of dates every day starting in their 37th week of pregnancy had the same results. On average, they were in labor for 4 hours less than women who didn’t eat dates.
Even though eating dates seem to speed up labor and shorten the time it takes to give birth, more research is needed to confirm these effects.
Dates may help with pregnancy because they contain chemicals that bind to oxytocin receptors and seem to mimic oxytocin’s effects on the body. Oxytocin is a hormone that makes contractions happen during labor and delivery.
Dates also have tannins, which are chemicals that have been shown to help contractions happen. They also have a lot of natural sugar and calories, which you need to keep your energy up during labor.
Conclusion:
Dates have fiber and antioxidants and are full of vitamins and minerals. But since they are dried fruits, they have a lot of calories. Dates have a lot of fiber, which may help keep you regular and keep your blood sugar under control. Dates have several types of antioxidants that may help prevent heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes, among other long-term illnesses. Dates may help reduce inflammation and stop plaques from forming in the brain, which is important for preventing Alzheimer’s disease. When eaten in the last few weeks of pregnancy, dates may help a woman go into labor on her own and speed up the process.
