Dates are one of the healthiest foods around! They’re high in fiber, which helps keep your digestive system healthy and can help you feel full. They’re also packed with antioxidants, which may support brain health and reduce your risk of certain diseases.
Dates are a quintessential ingredient in many dishes throughout the world. They come in many forms, including dried and fresh, but they all have one thing in common: dates are packed with nutrients.
Here are 6 health benefits of eating dates:
1. Helps in Weight Loss
Being a good source of iron and calcium, they help maintain blood and bone health too. With almost seven grams of fibre in a serving of three and a half ounces, dates make for a great way to increase the fibre intake in your daily diet, which can aid weight loss.
2. Improves Brain Activity
Vitamin B, which can be easily found in these little sweet fruits, is an important component of acetylcholine, which is a memory neurotransmitter. This means that a regulated and significant consumption of dates can effectively keep your neurotransmitters nourished and your brain activity healthy. Furthermore, these vitamins also add to the antioxidant properties of dates. They keep your brain cells from getting attacked by free-radicals and delay the signs of degenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
3. Dates Are Rich In Antioxidants
Like we have mentioned before, dates are especially loaded with antioxidants, which allows them to be potent free-radical scavengers. Free-radicals, or free oxygen atoms, are responsible for attacking healthy cells in your body, thus damaging their cell walls which could sometimes result in their inflammation. Free-radical damages are age-related concerns, and that is why the consumption of antioxidant-rich food items such as dates can delay the onset of the signs of aging.
4. Good For Your Blood Pressure
On average, about six dates can provide with over 80 milligrams of magnesium. And if you know anything about this essential mineral, then you would know that it is quite beneficial for keeping your blood pressure in check. An unregulated dosage of salt (which can find its way into your system through the consumption of any meal that you eat) can result in the constriction of the blood vessels. On the other hand, a healthy dosage of magnesium can be advantageous in counteracting this adverse effect of salt and exert a dilating force in the inner lining of the vessels, thus promoting a proper flow of blood throughout the system.
5. Can Help In The Regulation Of Blood Sugar
Yes, we know that dates are sweet, but what you should understand is the fact that its sweetness is derived from naturally occurring sugar and it lacks the presence of the one that is refined. Refined sugar is something that most people speak of when they talk of something sweet and unhealthy, and it is known to increase the number of idle calories in your bloodstream. These idle calories are responsible for using your body’s vitamins and minerals; hence their consumption can lead to a nutritional deficit, which is bad. The naturally occurring sugar in dates is much easier to break down and does not contribute towards rising blood sugar levels.
6. Dates Can Effectively Strengthen Bones
Potassium is an essential mineral when it comes to maintaining one’s bone density. Some potassium salts can neutralize bone-depleting metabolic acids. These acids are themselves responsible for removing calcium from the surface of your bone, and as it happens, a single dried date can provide you with a healthy dosage of 140 milligrams of potassium, making it a great addition to your diet if you are looking for something that can strengthen your bones and maintain its density.