Rich in antioxidants, dates are sugary fruits with excellent beneficial properties. Let’s find out everything there is to know. Small, sweet and juicy dates are the fruit produced by the Phoenix Dactylifera palm, a long-limbed tree that can grow up to 20 or 30 meters tall. These palms begin to produce fruit from the age of 3 and reach their peak of maturity around 30 when they can produce over 50 kg of dates per year.
Lovers of warm climates and dates come from northern Africa and western Asia, where Medjoul dates are produced, which are the most prized variety. Currently, the fruits are also cultivated in some areas of the Mediterranean. For this reason, they can be found in dried fruit and vegetable stalls and supermarkets throughout the year, while fresh dates are found more rarely and only in autumn and winter. Often referred to as the ” golden fruit of the desert “, dates possess numerous beneficial properties for health, so much so that they have been known since ancient times for their delicacy and nutritional value.
Not surprisingly, it is a fruit consumed and appreciated in many cultures and culinary traditions worldwide, thanks to its creamy texture and flavor reminiscent of caramel. Date palm fruits offer numerous health benefits, such as those related to the supply of antioxidants. Despite this, although consuming these sugary fruits is suitable for any diet, some contraindications would advise against their intake for some subjects. So let’s see the properties and benefits of dates, their nutritional values and the calories these fruits bring. In addition, let’s find out more about the contraindications associated with their consumption and the relationship between dates and diabetes.
Dates: Properties And Benefits
Oblong in shape and brown, dates have an inedible part represented by the woody and pointed seed inside them. The plump mash and the thin, palatable film contain fundamental supplements like nutrients, mineral salts and dietary filaments. Specifically, dates offer a blend of nutrients that add to different parts of well-being. Vitamin An advances eye and skin well-being, while vitamin K and B6 advance blood thickening, mental capability and protein digestion.
Niacin, fundamental for the sensory system and energy digestion, is likewise present in considerable amounts in dates, as is folic corrosive, which is fundamental for creating new cells in the body. Because of the rich and changed presence of mineral salts, including potassium and magnesium, dates add to the strength of the heart, skeletal and strong frameworks. Moreover, the copper and manganese in these organic products are cofactors for various enzymatic responses in our bodies. There are additional flavonoids to finish the image of helpful substances contained in dates.
Dates are a characteristic wellspring of cell reinforcements that assist with battling oxidative pressure in the body and forestall cell harm. Because of their high happiness of normal sugars, such as glucose and fructose, dates are an incredible wellspring of moment energy. Hence, these natural products are ideal for pre-exercise nibbling or battle weakness during the day. Besides, since they are wealthy in dietary fiber, they advance great processing, assist with directing gastrointestinal capability and add to a feeling of satiety.
Dates: Calories And Nutritional Values
Notwithstanding the many advantages, consuming dates with some restraint is prudent because of their unhealthy substance. Dates are high in normal sugars and contain a lot of calories. A piece of dates of around 100 grams can bring 280 calories. We can say that dates make you fat, then? Not precisely. The figure has no dangers if consumed in the right amounts and remembered for a solid and adjusted diet. Assuming you are considering the number of dates you can eat daily, the suggested segment is 40 grams (around 2-3 dates). So how about we see the super healthy benefits of dates :
- Calories: 277 calories
- Water: 17.30 grams
- Carbs: 74.97 grams
- Sugars: 66.47 grams
- Protein: 1.81 grams
- Fat: 0.15 grams
- Fibers: 6.7 grams
- Potassium: 696 mg
- Calcium: 64 mg
- Iron: 2.70 mg
- Phosphorus: 65 mg
- Vitamin A: 149 IU
- Vitamin K: 2.7 µg
- Vitamin B6: 0.165 mg
- Niacin: 1.61 mg
- Folic acid: 19 µg
These values may vary slightly depending on the variety of dates and their degree of ripeness. In any case, consuming this fruit is unsuitable for people who follow a low-calorie diet. On the contrary, it is recommended during energy diets.
Contraindications Of Dates And Relationship With Diabetes
Expecting that the glycemic file of dates is between 45 and 60 for new soil products and 100 and 120 for dried ones, it can’t be said that dates are food varieties with a low GI. Despite the medium-high glycemic list notwithstanding, the principal risk variable to consider is the connection between dates and glucose. As referenced, dates are normally wealthy in sugars.
Subsequently, individuals with diabetes, overweight and insulin obstruction ought to go as far as possible in their utilization. Dates and diabetes, in this way, don’t get along well overall. Aside from this, the primary contraindications of dates are connected with excessive utilization, which can cause weight gain, gastrointestinal problems and a diuretic impact, and the likelihood that a few subjects experience hypersensitive responses to the natural product. As usual, as with numerous different food varieties, dates ought to be eaten with some restraint.
Also Read: Are Eggs Good Or Bad? Benefits And Contraindications
