If you like sweetness on a Friday night, something new and exciting, or something that will give you energy and perhaps a little skip in your step, then you are likely someone who likes a good date or even several. And whether we’re talking about a romantic outing with another person or an edible sweet fruit, it mattereth not. Dates out to dessert, or dates for dessert are both as awesome as they are healthy for the body and mind. Yet, for this article, we are talking about the the fruit of the date palm grown in many tropical regions of the world.
Moreover, if you eat three of these soft, squishy fruit everyday for one week, you may consider makin dates a more regular occurrence because the following things will likely happen to your body:
1. Reduced risk of colon cancer
Along with insuring that food moves through the digestive system at a healthy rate, dates also make sure that the gut itself is healthy and free from harmful bacteria. And when the digestive system and gut are working well, then so is the colon, resulting in a reduced risk of colon cancer.
A study conducted by the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences found that those who consumed dates had enhanced colon health because dates increased the growth of good bacteria, inhibiting the growth of colon cancer cells.
2. You’ll have quick, long lasting energy
Dates contain the natural sugars, glucose, fructose and sucrose that will give you a quick burst of energy when you need it. And unlike energy bars or drinks, dates contain other healthy components like fiber, potassium, magnesium, vitamins and antioxidants that will keep those levels up, and not send you quickly crashing down.
3. Your digestive health will improve
If you want to keep things in your digestive system moving along nice and regularly, dates are just the thing to do that. In just a one cup serving or dates, you will get 12 grams of fiber. That’s 48 percent of your recommended daily intake!
The right amounts and right kinds of fiber can benefit your digestive health by preventing constipation and promoting regular bowel movements. And dates are most definitely the right kind of fiber to do the job. In fact, a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that people who consumed 7 dates per day for 21 days showed improvements in stool frequency and increase in bowel movements compared to when they did not eat dates.
4. You could be smarter
Dates contain Vitamin B6 that has been shown to improve performance of brain by helping the body make serotonin and norepinephrine. Serotonin in turn regulates mood and norepinephrine helps your body cope with stress. Conversely, research has shown that low levels of Vitamin B6 is linked to depression.
So, when your brain is clear from stress, and in a good mood, then it is sharp and ready to learn and retain information.
5. Treatment for hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids are veins in your anus and rectumthat have become inflamed and swollen. This is often caused by constipation that leads to strain in that area at the far end of the digestive tract. This is a terrible and often very painful condition that fortunately can be treated and even reversed through a change in diet to reduce constipation.
Many doctors recommend a diet high in fiber, and that includes dates to help things move along so that your hemorrhoids can heal.
6. Cure a broken heart, aka, improve your cardiovascular system
Sometimes all it takes is several dates in a row over a long period of time to cure a broken heart.
It’s true. The potassium contained in this seemingly magical little fruit has been found lowering LDL (bad cholesterol) that causes blockages in the arteries that lead to stroke and even heart attack. A study of older women found that high potassium intake is associated with a lower risk of stroke and ischemic stroke and mortality.
So, invest in a date — even several over a long period of time — and you will find long lasting health that could very well lead to your happily ever after.
