Palm dates or dates is a fruit that is most popularly cultivated across North Africa, Middle East, and South Asia. It is amongst the most nutritious fruits that have countless health benefits but not many people are aware of it. Do you know dates can be beneficial for addicts fighting the addiction? Let’s find out more of such amazing health benefits of eating dates in this article.
Nutritional Value
You can safely consume a handful of dates on a daily basis. It offers the body a lot of energy; furthermore, it is a natural sweetener. The nutritional value of 100 grams of dates is as follows.
- Calories: 277
- Fiber: 7 grams
- Carbs: 75 grams
- Protein: 2 grams
In addition to these nutrients, dates also provide iron to the body. This fruit is also rich in minerals such as potassium, magnesium, copper, and manganese. All these collectively make dates a superfood that must be consumed to get health benefits.
Health Benefits
Many people consume dates to achieve specific health outcomes. However, some benefits of eating dates are still not known to people; here are some of them:
1. Natural Substitute For Sugar
Dates are calorie-rich yet nutritious fruit. It is a natural sweetener and you can consume it daily. It is rather a good substitution for refined sugar as refined sugar is very harmful. Consuming dates to fulfill your appetite for sugar helps to manage the craving mindfully.
These are rich in fiber, and their consumption helps to meet the daily requirement of fiber. Fiber-rich fruits offer many benefits. One of the main roles that it plays is that it keeps a person fuller for longer.
2. Beneficial For Steady Digestion
Dates are very rich in fiber and help to meet the daily requirement of fiber by the body. Adequate fiber intake is essential for a healthy digestive system and bowel movement. Consuming dates on a regular basis helps to overcome digestive issues such as constipation. Studies have shown that people who consumed dates more often had better bowel movements as compared to others.
Fiber is very beneficial for steady digestion, and resultantly the blood sugar does not spike instantly. Though dates are sweet, it helps to manage blood sugar level as it has low GI index, a measure of spiking blood sugar right after food consumption.
3. Helps In Recovering From Addiction
Many people struggle with a healthy lifestyle, and some even deal with addiction to alcohol, drugs, and nicotine. These substances hinder the body’s ability to absorb necessary nutrients that are vital for health, thus leading to malnutrition. In such a scenario, a person is left with only one option, and that is to give up the addiction.
The first step towards giving up an addiction is to get rid of toxic substances from the body; a local detox center can assist with it. And the second step is to add healthy foods to your diet that will not only aid in fastening the recovery process but would also reduce the chances of relapse. Eating nutritious fruit such as dates at an early stage of detoxification is an excellent choice as you have to start off with small meals, and what’s better than dates?
4. High In Disease-Fighting Antioxidants
Antioxidants help the body to prevent numerous diseases. In comparison with similar fruits, figs, and raisins, the dates have far more content of antioxidants, making them effective for better health. Antioxidants protect normal body cells against free radicals that are responsible for causing disease and illness.
Most prominently, there are three types of antioxidants found in dates that are:
- Flavonoids: These antioxidants are very effective against inflammation. These are also linked to reducing the risk of diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Carotenoids: These antioxidants are very effective in reducing the risk of eye diseases, and it effectively promotes heart health
- Phenolic acid: Again, effective against inflammation and helps the body combat inflammation; it also helps to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.
5. Promotes Brain Health
Dates promote better cognitive abilities as it is believed to promote memory and learning. Moreover, many studies conducted on animals suggest that dates help the brain to avoid anxiety-related behavioral disorders.
The certainly high level of antioxidants in dates makes it very effective against reducing inflammatory factors in the brain. If not reduced, these inflammatory factors can result in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
6. Promote Natural Labor
Dates have since long been used by women as it promotes natural labor. Also, consuming dates in the last few weeks helps to naturally dilate the uterus. It is especially effective against long-term labor, and consumption helps to go into the labor phase. Dates are also believed to reduce labor time.
Studies have also shown that a compound, tannins, found in dates, help with contractions. Dates are very nutritious. It is the source of energy for women that are much needed during labor.
7. Promotes Bone Health
Among the other, the most prominent benefits of dates are that their regular intake promotes bone health. The components found in dates such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium all promote better bone density and help them keep stronger.
With a routine intake of dates, one can avoid conditions that affect bone health, such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Thus it is important to add dates to your daily diet plan.
8. Helps To Deal With Anemia
Low blood count in the body results in a pale appearance; it is important to incorporate dates in your diet along with supplements to fight this problem. Dates are rich in iron and help overcome issues such as brittle nails, headaches, light-headedness, and fatigue.
Take Away
There are many good things about dates. The nutritional facts about dates are compelling enough to add this fruit to the daily diet. It is extremely beneficial for recovering addicts and other people in general as it is rich in fiber and antioxidants as compared to other similar fruits such as raisins and figs.
