Are Dates Good for You?

Once restricted to arid regions - typically characterized by a serious dearth of vegetation, dates have become quite popular (in terms of cultivation as well as diet) in various parts of the world today. If not all, dates provide most of the nutrients required by our body - and that makes their inclusion in our daily diet a wise option, especially because most of us have no time to sit back and give a serious thought to what we are eating these days. More recently, however, some confusion about their sugar content and calories has left people wondering whether dates are really good for their health. In such circumstances, going through some facts about them - especially their nutritional value, can be of great help.

Date Fruit Facts

Dates, also referred to as date fruits, are sweet edible fruits of the date palm that are grown in arid regions of the world. Even though there does exist some confusion about the origin of dates, it is believed that their cultivation began in the Middle East, and eventually spread to other parts of the world where they are grown today. The inclusion of date fruit in diet can be traced back to ancient times - somewhere around 5th century BC to be precise, and that in itself hints at the fact that they are good for the health. Dates are considered to be storehouses for a range of vitamins, minerals, etc., which are necessary for various human body functions - right from digestion to bone growth.

Are Dates Good for Your Health?

The health benefits of dates exist in plenty, and these very benefits hint at the fact that dates are good for your overall health. As we mentioned earlier, date fruits are rich in a range of vitamins - including Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Niacin etc., each of which has a specific role to play various human body functions. They also contain some essential minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, manganese, selenium etc. Similarly, they also contain amino acids which are helpful in regulating the digestive process in the body.

Being high in iron, they are very useful when it comes to treatment of anemic condition attributed to hemoglobin deficiency. Their calcium content helps in strengthening your teeth and bones, and makes sure that the ailments like arthritis or rheumatism are kept at bay. The process of bone development is also assisted by the magnesium content in dates, and so is the process of energy metabolism. They are also helpful in enhancing nervous system functioning owing to their rich potassium content. Dates also add to your overall strength and help you gain muscles. Eating a serving of dates before workout makes sure that you carry on for a longer duration. Dates also act as energy boosters owing to their high carbohydrate content.

Dates are rich in dietary fiber - both soluble and insoluble, each of which has a crucial role to play in ameliorating your health. While soluble dietary fiber is known to decrease the cholesterol levels - low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in particular, insoluble dietary fiber helps speed up the movement of food in your digestive system. This in turn helps in cleaning the digestive system, and makes sure that you don't face problems such as irregular bowel movement and constipation. Raw dates in particular work as mild natural laxatives, and help you get rid of problems such as recurring constipation. Health experts also recommend eating dates on a regular basis to keep problems like acidity and heart burn at bay.

The best part about dates is the fact that they are very low in fats - with an average sized fruit containing a maximum of 6 gm of the same. At the same time, the fact that they are very low in sodium content comes as a blessing in disguise with studies revealing that most of the people take in more sodium than recommended daily intake nowadays. As far as the confusion about calories is concerned, an average sized date fruit seldom contain more than 23 calories - which means that the claims like dates are bad for your health because high calorie content hold no ground. (However, even with such low calorie content, you can put on weight when you overeat dates and don't indulge in any sort of physical activity - now that's something which implies to all foods, and not just dates.)

All the aforementioned dates nutrition facts are more than enough to convince a person that eating dates is good for overall health. While dried dates (the ones that are dehydrated) are quite popular as health foods, fresh dates are also equally beneficial for your health. While dried dates are good for health, you need to make sure that you choose the right ones - and in order to do that you will have to check for signs which suggest that they are not suitable for consumption. For instance, sugar formation on their exterior.