Dates are the fruit of the date palm tree, which grows in many tropical regions around the world. In recent years, dates have become quite popular, especially in Western countries where they’re sold dried.

For some time now, dates have also been used in traditional medicine as a remedy for inflammation and inducing labor. Beyond these, dates provide a number of other benefits thanks to their high nutrient content.

Here are eight reasons you should eat more dates.

Dates have an excellent nutrition profile

Dates, especially when dried, have a higher calorie content than most fresh fruits. While a good part of this comes from carbohydrates, dates also contain important vitamins and minerals. This is on top of a significant amount of fiber.

On 3.5 ounce (100 gram) service of dates provides you with the following.

• Calories –  277 cal
• Carbs – 75 grams
• Fiber – 7 grams
• Protein – 2 grams
• Potassium – 20 percent of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI)
• Magnesium – 14 percent of the RDI
• Copper – 18 percent of the RDI
• Manganese – 15 percent of the RDI
• Iron – 5 percent of the RDI
• Vitamin B6 – 12 percent of the RDI

Dates are high in fiber

As mentioned above, dates contain a significant amount of fiber. At 7 grams per 3.5-ounce serving, they’re a great way to increase your fiber intake. Fiber benefits your digestive health by promoting regular bowel movement and preventing constipation. This is because fiber contributes to the formation of stool.

In particular, one study found that people who consumed seven dates per day for 21 days experienced improvements in stool frequency compared to when they did not eat dates.

Dates can help control blood sugar

The fiber in dates may also be beneficial for blood sugar control since it slows digestion and helps keep blood sugar levels from spiking too high after meals.

More importantly, dates have a low glycemic index and are also rich in antioxidants. Combined with their high fiber content, eating dates may help benefit diabetes management.

Dates are rich in antioxidants

Dates also contain a significant amount of antioxidants, which help fight against inflammation and damage from oxidative stress.

Studies show that dates have a higher antioxidant content compared to similar fruits such as dried plums and figs.

Dates are an excellent natural sweetener

Dates are a source of fructose, a natural type of sugar found in fruit. This gives dates their sweet, caramel-like taste. This also makes them a great, healthy substitute for white sugar in recipes.

Dates promote bone health

Several of the minerals found in dates, including phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium, are beneficial for your bones. More importantly, consuming a healthy amount of these has been shown to help prevent certain bone-related conditions, such as osteoporosis.

Dates may promote brain health

Research shows that eating dates may help improve brain function. In particular, one study has found dates to be helpful for lowering certain inflammatory markers linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

The same study also found that dates may be helpful in reducing the activity of amyloid-beta proteins, which can form plaques in the brain. These plaques can disturb communication between brain cells, leading to Alzheimer’s and even brain cell death.

Dates may promote natural labor

Dates have long been used in traditional medicine as a way to promote and ease late-term labor in pregnant women. In modern times, studies have come out supporting this use.

One study found that women who consumed six dates per day for four weeks before their due date were 20 percent more likely to go into labor naturally. In addition, they were in labor for significantly less time than those who didn’t eat them.

Dates are a very healthy fruit to include in your diet. Thanks to their high content of nutrients, fiber and antioxidants, they can provide you with a number of health benefits. In addition, they’re also quite versatile, able to be eaten dried as well as fresh and can also be used as a sweetener for various dishes.

Try some dates today so you can experience all that this wonderful fruit brings to the table.

Sources:

Healthline.com

WJGNet.com

Cambridge.org

MDPI.com

NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov

NRROnline.org

TAndFOnline.com