What nutrients
are there in dates? A lot indeed!
Here are sweet, delicious fruits from the tropical oasis, brimming with
much-needed minerals and energy to help you stay fit and healthy.
Botanically; they
are the fruits grow on the palm tree belonging to the family of Arecaceae in
the genus: Phoenix and scientifically named as Phoenix dactylifera.
The tree is believed to originate in the lands on the banks of Nile and
Euphrates Rivers of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Date palm is now grown
extensively for its edible fruits under warmer climates across all the continents.
Dates can provide lot of health benefits. Dates are high in iron content and fluorine. Dates are rich source of vitamins and minerals. Consuming dates regularly can help to lower cholesterol and keep many health disorders away. Read on to know more about the top 10 benefits of consuming dates.
Health benefits of dates are uncountable, as this fruit is
affluent in natural fibres. Dates are even rich in several vitamins and minerals.
These natural products contain oil, calcium, sulphur, iron, potassium, phosphorous,
manganese, copper and magnesium which are advantageous for health. It is said
that consumption of one date daily is necessary for a balanced and healthy
diet. Dates help in fighting constipation, intestinal disorders, weight gain,
heart problems, sexual weakness, diarrhoea and abdominal cancer.
Health benefits of dates have made them the best nourishment
for muscles development. People consume dates in several ways, like mixing the
paste of the dates with milk, yoghurt or with bread or butter to make the food
tasty and healthy. This paste is beneficial for both adults and children,
especially during the time of recovery. According to the modern medicine
survey, it is known that dates are useful in preventing abdominal cancer. It is
also seen that many Muslims break their fast by eating dates and water
according to their traditions. Breaking fast with eating dates helps us to
avoid overeating of the food after the fast. When the body absorbs the
nutritional value of the dates, the feeling of hunger gets pacified.
§ Wonderfully delicious, dates are one of the most
popular fruits packed with an impressive list of essential nutrients, vitamins,
and minerals that are required for normal growth, development and overall
well-being.
§ Fresh dates compose of soft, easily digestible flesh
and simple sugars like fructose and dextrose. When eaten, they replenish energy
and revitalize the body instantly. For these qualities, they are being used to
break the fast during Ramadan month since ancient times.
§ The fruit is rich in dietary fiber, which
prevents LDL cholesterol absorption in the gut. Additionally, the fiber works
as a bulk laxative. It, thus, helps to protect the colon mucous membrane by
decreasing exposure time and as well as binding to cancer-causing chemicals in
the colon.
§ They contain health benefiting flavonoid polyphenolic
antioxidants known as tannins. Tannins are known to possess
anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hemorrhagic (prevent easy bleeding
tendencies) properties.
§ They are moderate sources of vitamin-A (contains
149 IU per 100 g), which is known to have antioxidant properties and essential
for vision. Additionally, it is also required maintaining healthy mucus
membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin A is known to
help to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.
§ They compose antioxidant flavonoids such as ß-carotene,
lutein, and zea-xanthin. These antioxidants found to have the ability to
protect cells and other structures in the body from harmful effects of
oxygen-free radicals. Thus, eating dates found to offer some protection from
colon, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers.
§ Zea-xanthin is an important dietary carotenoid that
selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea, where it thought to provide
antioxidant and protective light-filtering functions. It thus offers protection
against age-related macular degeneration, especially in elderly populations.
§ Dates are an excellent source of iron, contains
0.90 mg/100 g of fruits (about 11% of RDI). Iron, being a component of
hemoglobin inside the red blood cells, determines the oxygen-carrying capacity
of the blood.
§ Further, they are very good in potassium. 100 g
contains 696 mg or 16% of daily-recommended levels of this electrolyte.
Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help
controlling heart rate and blood pressure. They, thus, offers protection
against stroke and coronary heart diseases.
§ They are also rich in minerals like calcium,
manganese, copper, and magnesium. Calcium is an important mineral
that is an essential constituent of bone and teeth, and required by the body
for muscle contraction, blood clotting, and nerve impulse conduction. Manganese
is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide
dismutase. Copper is required for the production of red blood cells. Magnesium
is essential for bone growth.
§ Further, the fruit has adequate levels of B-complex
group of vitamins as well as vitamin K. It contains very good amounts of pyridoxine
(vitamin B-6), niacin, pantothenic acid, and riboflavin. These vitamins are
acting as cofactors help body metabolize carbohydrates, protein, and fats.
Vitamin K is essential for many coagulant factors in the blood as well as in
bone metabolism.
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