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 fruit of the date palm grown in many tropical regions of the world.
1. Reduced risk of colon cancer
Along with ensuring 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.
