Dates? is it good or not?

BENEFITS OF DATES

    On 24th April 2020, we will start fasting for Ramadhan. What is the first thing that would come to your mind when Ramadhan was mentioned? It is absolutely the well-known date fruit. Dates are the most popular fruit during Ramadhan. Dates are the sweet, chewy fruit of the date palm tree. Each date has about 60 to 70 percent sugar and has a high amount of fibre, which makes it ideal as a healthy energy booster. It is known to have many benefits by consuming it. The benefits of consuming dates are really important for us to know because it can help us to stay healthy and balanced diet. There are three important benefits of consuming dates which are preventing constipation, help to prevent the development of certain chronic illnesses and promote brain health.

    The first benefit that you would get by consuming dates is they can prevent you from experiencing constipation. Including dates in your diet is a great way to increase your fibre intake. Fibre can benefit your digestive health by preventing constipation because it can promote regular bowel movements by contributing to the formation of stool. It was said that people who consumed 7 dates per day for 21 days experienced improvements in stool frequency and had a remarkable increase in bowel movements compared to when they did not eat dates.

Besides, the fibre in dates may be beneficial for blood sugar control. The fibre in the dates will slow the digestion process and may help prevent blood sugar levels from increasing too high after eating. According to a research done about the Impact of palm date consumption on microbiota growth and large intestinal health, there were significant increases in bowel movements and stool frequency as well as significant reductions in stool ammonia concentration after consumption of dates. Furthermore, date fruit intake will particularly reduce genotoxicity in human faecal water relative to control. The data shows that consumption of date fruit may reduce colon cancer risk without inducing changes in the microbiota (Eid et al, 2015).

    Next, consuming dates will help to prevent the development of certain chronic illnesses. A study written in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry concluded that consuming dates was effective at reducing triglyceride levels and decreasing oxidative stress which both are risk factors for heart disease and artherogenesis. These dried fruits are rich in antioxidants that may help prevent artherogenesis which is the build-up of fatty plaque in the arteries and aid in reducing the risk of stroke. They are also high in various phytochemicals which may also help protect against heart disease.

    In addition, they have rich source in potassium which studies have shown to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke as well as other heart-related diseases. Based on the research that had been done by Mohamed Al-Farsi and other researchers, they had concluded that the high potassium and low sodium contents in dates are good for people that suffer from hypertension. This is because the intracellular concentration of potassium is about 30 times higher than the extracellular concentration, and this difference forms a transmembrane electrochemical gradient that is maintained via the sodium-potassium transporter to maintain cellular tonicity for proper nerve transmission, muscle contraction, and kidney function. Thus, proven that source of potassium in the dates are very good in preventing development of chronic illnesses.

    Lastly, consuming dates also can promote brain health. Dates provide various antioxidants that have a number of health benefits to offer. The unstable molecules that can cause harmful reactions in the body that may lead to disease can be prevented by antioxidants in the dates where it will protect the cells from free radicals. Compared to similar types of fruit; figs and dried plums, dates appear to have the highest antioxidant content which contains flavonoids, carotenoids and phenolic acids.

Flavonoids have shown to effectively maintain neural cells function during harmful conditions in brain. Mahsa Bakhtiari and other researchers had done a research on effects of flavonoids against neural dysfunction disease where they found that flavonoids can stimulate detoxifying enzymes, boost immune system responses and altering epigenetic effects in neural disorders. These unique characteristics of flavonoids have made them to be considered as a possible therapeutic strategy in treatment of different neurodegenerative disorders especially in Alzheimer’s disease.

    In conclusion, dates are a very healthy fruit to include in your diet. They are high in several nutrients, fiber and antioxidants, all of which may provide health benefits ranging from improved digestion to a reduced risk of disease. There are several ways to add dates to your diet. One popular way to eat them is as a natural sweetener in various dishes. They also make a great snack. It’s easiest to find dates in their dried form, though these are higher in calories than fresh fruit so it is important to eat them in moderation. Dates are definitely worth adding to your diet, as they are both nutritious and delicious.