Do you like dates? Well, not the one where we go out with someone we’re interested in, but the ones that interest our tastebuds! Well, dates are one of the best dry fruits in the world. They are known to be originated from Iraq but had extensive usage through the Indus Valley civilization. Currently, it happens to be a staple in Middle Eastern countries. However, the health benefits of dates are immense, and that makes them high in demand globally.
Dates come in a variety of shapes and sizes and give you a different level of sweetness that varies. Check out why you must occasionally indulge in tasty dates.
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Health Benefits of Dates
Dates are high in nutrition, and you must include them in your diet daily. If you are concerned about your flaky skin, weak heart, cholesterol levels, or any other health issues, dates can be of immense help. You can have them raw, but the benefits of dates with milk at night are also spectacular. However, you must know how many dates to eat per day too. But before we get into how you need to include them to your diet, let’s see what the benefits of dates are:
Controls Cholesterol Levels
You will find dates to be extremely high in iron and richer than bananas in its fiber-content. Also, they are low in cholesterol. So, keeping these factors in mind, an Israeli study claims that having dates can be beneficial to control oxidative stress and cholesterol. However, they also specifically mention that fit people can also reap the health benefits of dates to control cholesterol levels.
Grows Healthy Bones
Nutrients that keep your bones healthy are magnesium, manganese, copper, selenium, and vitamin K. All these are present in dates, which makes it evident that a diet-inclusion can give you healthy bones. Also, it prevents you from having bone problems such as osteoporosis.
The vitamin K content in dates metabolizes bones and acts as a blood coagulant. Dates also contain boron nutrients; according to many studies, it keeps bones healthy.
Maintains Brain Health
Aren’t you already aware that dates reduce oxidative stress? So, you can easily have dates regularly and reduce any risk of having neurodegenerative illnesses. You will also find consuming dates daily to improve cognitive health in older people.
Prevents Inflammation
You will find dates to contain anti-inflammatory properties in them. It is also high in magnesium and helps to reduce and prevent inflammation. However, you will find a limited study, stating low magnesium intake could lower the immunity level. But it would help if you had dates to boost up your immunity and fight off inflammation.
Keeps Skin Healthy
The dates benefits for skin are immense for the vitamins present in them. You will find the anecdotal studies suggesting that dates increase skin elasticity. It can also help you to fight off skin problems like rashes or itching. Moreover, you will also get the health benefits of dates as they fight early aging. It enables you to get wrinkle-free skin and prevents the chances of melanin accumulation. More so, dates kernel contains phytohormones that also add to the reason for this benefit.
Gives Healthy Weight
Are you too skinny? If you want to gain in a few pounds, then dates can help. However, the research in this regard is limited and requires more study.
Lowers Blood Pressure
Do you know that potassium is an excellent mineral to lower blood pressure? So, it is quite evident that dates should help you lower blood pressure. Moreover, if you do not consume sufficient amounts of potassium, kidney stones can develop too. So, you can have moderate amounts of dates to keep your blood pressure in control.
Even the high fiber content in it makes an impact on the sugar levels in your blood. Moreover, it balances the intake of sodium, thus helping you to keep pressure levels healthy.
Keeps Heart Healthy
Just by consuming a few dates regularly, you can keep your heart healthy. It can fight off free radicals that reduce the chances of cardiovascular illnesses.
Some studies say that the antioxidant level in dates is high, which reduces the chances of atherosclerosis. Further, stimulating the removal of cholesterol in your artery cells.
Isoflavones are another nutrient, dates contain, which curbs the chances of you having heart illnesses. But the research in this regard is limited.
Promotes Sexual Health
The dates benefits for men are impeccable. It is believed that the pollen from date palm acts as a medicine in olden days to encourage fertility. Even the content of amino acids is good to boost up sexual vitality.
Treats Diarrhea
When you have diarrhea, the choice of foods you consume is crucial. So, it would help if you watched out on what you are having. Dates are high in potassium and have antimicrobial properties. Both these contents benefit you from improving your condition, by fighting off the microbes that are the rule cause for diarrhea.
Reduces Chances of Colon Cancer
If you have dates regularly, you’re helping good bacteria to grow in your gut. This, in turn, helps improve the health of the colon and reduces the chances of having colon cancer.
Boosts Energy
There is no doubt that the high content of nutrients in dates will increase energy levels. It contains some natural sugars like glucose, sucrose, and fructose, which further adds why dates increase your energy levels.
Now, as we finish knowing how beneficial dates are for your health, you must be keen on including them to your diet. But before you buy them, it’s crucial you know some more things like the types of dates and the best way to consume it. So, keep scrolling down to everything about this wondrous fruit.
Different Types of Dates
You must know that dates have varying kinds, and here we have categorized them. Here are the following types of dates:
Medjool
You will find the Medjool to originate from Morocco. It generally has a caramel-toffee flavor.
Barhi
You can call these yellow dates. It is natively found in Iraq, and have a very thick and chewy flesh.
Dayri
You will find these dates to be black, lengthy, and very slim too.
Halawy
This variety of dates are tiny and extremely sweet.
Deglet Noor
You can vouch on these as the best varieties that have their origins from Algeria and Tunisia. It isn’t that sweet and has a slightly dry taste, which makes it perfect for culinary purposes.
Hayani
Mostly found in Egypt, and they tend to have a blackish to reddish color.
Migraf
Migraf is very popular in South Yemen. You will notice these dates to have a golden amber color and are quite large.
Iteema
Iteema dates have their origin in Algeria, and you will find them to be very sweet. You’ll find their sizes to be oblong and big.
Medjool tops the list among the most popular variety of dates for most people. It’s mostly seen in black color and very rich in fiber, antioxidants, and potassium.
Best Way to Include Dates to Your Diet
The health benefits of dates are immense, but it can be puzzling to include them in your diet. So, here we have made a list of ways you can easily have them.
Some of the ways you can eat dates are:
- Why not try your hands on snacks? You can have a few dates mixed with some almonds, cashews, almonds, pecans, and walnuts. You can enjoy the high walnuts nutrition facts along with the health benefits of dates too.
- If you have cereals for breakfast, it is the best time to eat dates. A few diced pieces in it will help you reap the maximum date benefits.
- You can even try out the date wrap. It will give your chicken salad or tuna wrap a slightly sweet flavor that you’ll love.
- Having these dry fruits for dessert is also a great choice. You can go for some yogurt or try out a few types of ice cream with dates. It will simply give you a unique taste.
Dates would help if you did not tweak the way your dates taste. It is because you will only get the best health benefits of dates if you consume it conveniently.
You can quickly soak the dry dates to get them rehydrated and only then consume them. Moreover, you can even try out the syrup of dates. There is a belief that date syrup proves better than honey too. But people know the benefits of dates on health, but usually get confused with which one to buy. So, we have even covered that part for you. Here, we are going to tell the health benefits of dates both in fresh and dry form.
Dry Dates Vs. Fresh Dates
The dry dates are usually much harder than the fresh ones. This means that the fresh ones contain much more moisture in them.
You may find many dried dates to be quite fresh. In this case, it means that a few dates are purposefully dried for a while. But if you talk about their nutritional value, fresh dates and dry dates have almost the same nutrient content. But dried dates are much more different from them.
You will find the carbohydrate content in dried dates to be almost double the amount present in fresh dates. Moreover, dried dates have a much higher content of fiber than the fresh ones. Even more, the levels of iron and calcium both exceed in dried dates. However, when it comes to vitamin C content, fresh dates supersede the dried ones.
Tips to Select and Store Dates
Since you know so much about the health benefits of dates and how it can boost your immunity. You must consume them daily and store them well. With the limiting options of going out too much now, you must choose the right ones and save them well.
Below we have pointed well for you to select the best and store dates in the best way possible.
How to Select the Best Dates?
- You will find dates to be usually stored in narrow boxes but as a whole. Sometimes the dates are also seen to be made into pressed blocks.
- You must always buy the ones that have nice and glossy skin. Those are the ones that are moist and unbruised. You must choose the ones that have a plump look.
- If you are buying fresh dates, then you’ll find them to have wrinkled skin. But remember, it shouldn’t be too wrinkled or have tough skin. It can also be a crystallization of sugar. So, be aware!
- Both the dried and fresh dates have wrinkled skin. But the dried out ones are a little more wrinkly than the fresh ones. Remember to choose them very carefully.
- The most crucial thing about dates is that they must have a very even tone or color. Also, they should have a subtle sheen.
How to Store Dates?
- You can easily keep your fresh dates in an airtight container. It will remain fresh for more than five months.
- If you want to store the dried dates, a similar method applies to them too. However, the dried dates remain fresh until a year.
Final Thoughts
As we finish the tips for selecting and storing dates, we’ve brought you to the end of our blog. You know that this wondrous fruit is extremely good for you and can keep you in good health. Having them as snacks is the best way to eat dates and reap its maximum benefits. Are you still wondering how many dates to eat per day? Well, just a handful of inclusion to your diet will help you enjoy its goodness thoroughly!