The date palm has long been cultivated by the peoples of the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. Its fruit - palmate dates, is used in raw, dried, fried form, is subjected to other culinary processing. The ancient Assyrians knew the beneficial properties of the fruit, in addition, they also used the leaves and trunks of date trees for the construction of houses.
Dates in most cases are very well tolerated by the body, but it is worth knowing how much dates should be eaten so that they bring benefits to the body and do no harm. With moderate use, the product is very useful, but its abnormal consumption leads to excess weight gain.
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Characteristics and useful properties of dates for the body
The berries of life are often called these fruits by residents of the Middle East region. The fruits are used in baking bread, making honey and wine, roasted - used as a substitute for coffee. To taste, dates are not inferior to good sweets and can successfully replace any harmful sweets.
Fresh fruits contain carbohydrates, fats, proteins, water. The date pulp is saturated with various salts and minerals - boron, iron, cobalt and potassium, it contains more than 20 types of amino acids, dietary fiber and vitamins of various groups. Dried fruits, like fresh ones, contain fluorine, pantothenic acid, selenium and silicon. Fruits in any form have a lot of useful properties.
The nutritional value of the fruit is very high, it includes:
- folic acid - useful for the circulatory and immune systems;
- thiamine - regulates protein and carbohydrate metabolism;
- riboflavin - promotes the growth of nails, hair, the thyroid gland;
- pantothenate - prevents fatigue of nerve centers, muscles;
- nicotinic acid - is involved in redox reactions;
- pyridoxine - a vitamin of group B - calms the nervous system, regulates sugar levels, produces hemoglobin.
- tocopherol and ascorbic acid - strengthen, restore the walls of blood vessels, muscles and bone tissue, slow down the aging of the body.
For men
Men of any age should definitely use dates for:
- Enhance sexual stamina.
- Prevention of the development of heart disease, other organs of the circulatory system. CVD pathologies are most often found in men.
- Reducing the risk of tumors.
- Increases in the number of active sperm.
- Purification of the blood from toxins, carcinogens that accumulate in the body as a result of smoking and alcohol abuse.
For women
For the female body, palm fruits are no less useful than the male ones, especially when carrying a child. Tocopherol and other vitamins strengthen the walls of the uterus, facilitate the process of childbirth, and reduce the risk of postpartum hemorrhage. The body of a woman who consumed dates is able to recover faster after the birth of a child.
Eating fruits enhances lactation in the mother, promotes the production of oxytocin. This hormone causes a reduction in the special tissues surrounding the ducts of the mammary gland, so that milk is secreted from the breast.
Postpartum depression, present in many young mothers, weakens the nervous system. Dates help strengthen nerves, nullify the symptoms of depression, stabilize the emotional state.
These fruits are beneficial to all women. Premenstrual syndrome increases distraction, loss of strength, provokes a frequent change of mood, attacks of apathy. Periodic consumption of these exotic fruits can reduce the negative effects of PMS.
Spending a long time at work, women often eat fast food, and such nutrition affects health not in the best way. A handful of palm fruits will be an excellent substitute for fast food. Natural energy stimulates brain activity, fills the body with vitality and does not add extra pounds. In addition, the fruits improve the condition of the skin, nails, hair, giving them a natural healthy look.
Calorie content of dried dates with a stone and how much you need to eat them
Dates are considered a highly nutritious product, since the calorie content of 100 grams of dried fruit with a bone is 230 kcal. Since one fruit weighs 20-25 grams, then it will be approximately 58 kcal. It is possible to provide the body with a daily norm of vitamins and nutrients by eating only 5-6 fruits, which contain about the same amount of calories as in a glass of low-fat kefir.
Doctors believe that for an adult, the daily norm should be no more than 10-15 pieces. This amount is optimal in order to provide the body with all the necessary substances without the risk of gaining weight. Moreover, using dates, you can lose a few extra pounds: getting into the stomach, the fruits quickly cause a feeling of satiety, which remains for a long time. So you can easily reduce the number of meals.
A child of younger and middle age needs only 2 dried dates per day. More, according to pediatricians, children should not be given.
Fresh and dried fruits are slightly different in energy value - in favor of the former. Therefore, the rate of their consumption should be halved. You must also remember that daily consumption of more than 300 g of fruit leads to constipation.
Harm to the body and contraindications
Date palm fruits can also be harmful if you abuse them and have certain diseases. Namely:
- in patients with diabetes, the fruits cause an increase in blood glucose;
- excessive consumption of palm fruits, which mechanically irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa, is not advisable for people with gastric ulcer;
- in patients with fructose intolerance, the fruits will cause an eating disorder;
- excess protein compounds increases the acidity of urine, which is undesirable for patients with cystitis and kidney disease;
- the simultaneous use of dates and citrus fruits (carbohydrate and acidic foods) causes an upset stomach.
On the peel of dried and dried dates may be particles of dirt, dust, which are difficult to wash off with water. Together with them, pathogenic microflora enter the body, contributing to the development of gastric diseases.
Exotic fruits, such as dates, bananas, are digested for a long time by the digestive system, giving it no rest.Exceeding the norm of consumption leads to a slowdown of contractile movements of the stomach and its stop. In addition, in addition to bad breath, frequent belching and bloating, the development of constipation is possible.
Dates are completely prohibited in the following pathologies:
- obesity;
- diabetes mellitus with dependence on insulin injections;
- diseases of the digestive tract;
- impaired kidney function. The presence of ascorbic acid in the pulp leads to increased formation of kidney stones and ureters.
The absence of contraindications in a person is not a reason for the uncontrolled use of dates, you must adhere to the norm in any case.
Therapeutic recipes with dates
In traditional medicine, dates have been used for a long time. In the desert provinces of China there are centenarians whose diet is based on these fruits. European nutritionists also recommend using them in your diet, especially as a substitute for sweet desserts.
To increase potency
Pour a glass of dates with half a liter of fresh homemade milk, add a small spoon of crushed cinnamon powder. After thoroughly stirring, put the composition for 24 hours in a cool dark place. After infusion, the fruits should be eaten within one day, washed down with milk. The systematic use of such fruits contributes to an increase in libido, a positive effect on sperm activity.
For constipation
5 dried fruits boiled in half a liter of water will help normalize the bowel movement. A glass of cooled compote should be drunk on an empty stomach, and add a few spoons of oatmeal to the remaining broth. After 30 minutes of insisting, this peculiar porridge should be eaten for breakfast.
From the common cold
The following recipes will help prevent the development of a common cold:
- boil a dozen fruits for 30 minutes. in half a liter of water;
- Boil 5-7 dried fruits in a glass of fresh homemade milk.
Both broths should be drunk hot, in small sips.
To increase tone
Grind equal volumes of dried fruit, ginger, camel thorn, cinnamon, Kabul mirobalan in a coffee grinder and combine them with honey. Put the composition on low heat, mixing thoroughly. Add a little coconut milk to the semi-liquid mixture. The cooled mass should be like jam, which is consumed every day in the morning.
In oncology
Finely chopped dates mixed with honey, black caraway seeds and Alexandrian hay in equal proportions. Mix the mixture every day several times, in small portions.
With anemia
The following recipe will help increase the level of hemoglobin in the blood:
- 10 pieces of fresh fruit;
- teaspoon of ginger root;
- 1/8 tablespoon cardamom;
- a pinch of saffron.
In case of violations of the digestive tract
A decoction of 4 dates, boiled for 20 minutes in 400 ml of water, normalizes the digestive system. The drug is drunk in the morning in small sips.
With hypertension
Blood pressure can be stabilized by daily use on an empty stomach of not more than 100 g of dried fruits. The duration of the course is 20-21 days, a break of 10 days, after which the sessions can be repeated.
With migraine
You can reduce the frequency of headache attacks with this set of procedures:
- regular wellness massage;
- receiving infusion of horsetail grass - a third of a glass 3 times a day;
- 100 g of palm fruit per day.
Not recommended for patients with diabetes.
Common questions
- ripe fruits have a dark brown, uniformly distributed color;
- the fetus should be whole, moderately soft, with a matte surface;
- the presence of cracks, peeling of the skin, wrinkling and the smell of fermentation indicate improper drying;
- fat-treated fruits have an unnatural shine;
- traces of sugar crystals indicate coating with syrup. This is not scary, but they should not stick to hands, spread in the palm of your hand;
- choosing fruits with or without seeds, it is better to stop at the first. They are less processed, therefore they contain more vitamins and other useful substances.
Having bought dates in a store or in a market, they should be washed well under running water at home. Moderate consumption saturates the body with vitamins, amino acids, excessive turns into obesity, headaches, and other negative consequences.