Benefits of eating dates everyday. Why are they essential?

 Dates are one of the most ancient fruits and have been found in many medicinal scriptures throughout history. This is a  fruit whose cultivation only began in 4000 BC. But it is very evidently found in ancient scriptures like Babylonian, Egyptian, Roman empires etc.

The benefits of this fruit are so many that it has become an all rounder fruit for the health of our body and growth . This fruit is found in many forms and lots of variations. You can find dry dates, soft and juicy dates and some hard but not dry dates.

Dates are cultivated through out tropic regions and sub tropic regions. However these can be cultivated in other regions but under specific circumstances and procedures. The largest producers of dates are Saudi Arabia, Iran , Pakistan, and Egypt.

In many medicinal scriptures and from the prophecy these dates are found to be used for any nutritional needs and for the recovery of wounds from battles and excessive blood loss.

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Dates are rich in following nutrients,

 Dietary fiber,

 Potassium, 

Antioxidants.

 Vitamins like B6

 Minerals,

 Iron, 

Magnesium, and

 Calcium.

 However, they are high in sugar and calories so they can be used as natural sweetener and in place of artificial sweeteners. Like in many organic shakes dates are used to add nutrition and as sweetener. Many people ask for alternative of artificial sugars , for them this can be ideal besides honey.

Benefits

Dates are used for many purposes throughout history and in modern times too. Many body builder use date shake as natural protein   shake, some even adding different nuts and fruits to get more energy, and nutrition.

I my self use dates to keep my monthly periods cycle in good condition. I am a mother of two with C-section deliveries, therefore I have got some long term issues that will last my whole life, like lower back issues, low HP levels, and irregular periods. After the birth of my youngest child, I began developing menses issues like lesser blood , black blood, excessive cramps, difficulty in blood release etc. Hence I tried using dates , i.e 2 dates on empty stomach with half a glass of milk. ( You can go for full glass, I don't like drinking milk so I use half glass)

This not only made my menses more stable, but also it reduced cramps, and blood became more red. Also this helped me get rid of constant constipation issues, and bloating in my abdomen area.

Following are the benefits of using dates in your everyday diet.

There are several benefits of eating dates:

1) Nutrients:

Dates are a rich source of several essential nutrients that are not produced daily in our body and are required manually. These nutrients include vitamins, minerals, potassium etc.

These nutrients are essential for the cell procedures and many different types of our body minute functions like impulse generation, cell combustion, DNA formation etc.

2) Boost digestion: 

Dates contain ample amount of fiber that helps to regulate bowel movements, which in return prevents constipation and many issues related to digestive system.

Constipation is the biggest issue for irregular meal timings and excessive eating for those who can't help eating schedules should try adding dates in their diet to get better bowel movements. Irregular bowels can also lead to weight gain so indirectly maintaining weight can also be achieved through adding dates to our diet.

3) Muscle movement 

Fiber is an essential nutrient that is required not only for digestive system but for the making and recovery of our muscles. Our muscles are made up of fiber threads that contract and relax to create movement. These muscle fibers are made up of proteins that are called actin and myosin.

These fibers get damaged due to many things like cramps, stiffness, or external issues like accident, animal bite, or anything else. For such issues dates can be used for quick recovery of muscles. In old times when people were more prone to issues like animal bites, sword or knife injuries, dates were recommended to bring their blood levels to normal after treatment of wounds.

These injuries usually cause disruption in the muscle fibers, they break the harmony of muscular fibers with nervous system, as a result muscles get stiff and hard. Dates help in reconstruction of damaged muscular fibers on the natural bases.

 ( It is highly recommend to use medical help also, dates ONLY CANNOT be used to repair muscular damage).

4) Improved brain function: 

Dates contain several important minerals such as potassium and magnesium and antioxidants which are essential for our brain functions and it helps in reducing risk of neurodegenerative diseases.

What are neurodegenerative issues? It is a never disorder in which the brain and spinal cord nerve cells get damaged. 

We all know our brain functions through impulses generated by our body these impulse travel through our nerves in forms of ions. These ions travel throughout our body and are received in spinal cord which is like.. the head quarter where these impulse report. Then they are sent to brain and specific actions are taken by our body. 

In this neurogenerative disease these impulse are either not received properly or are not processed properly by our spinal cord and by our brain which in turn causes situations like Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's diseases. This means that to avoid memory loss issue at early ages, dates can help to maintain our memory cells, and all the impulses in our body. This doesn't mean that Alzheimer's can be treated but, it can be prevented before it happens.

5) Helps in good pregnancy

Yes dates are very useful in the times of pregnancy. Following are the benefits of using dates during pregnancy:

 Dates are rich in folate that is very essential for conceiving and building up of fetus with umbilical cord. 

Dates are also rich in fiber, that helps in making up of muscles of fetus. 

Dates are rich in potassium that are everyday minerals required by our body and pregnant women needs more of these. 

These are rich in calcium which is very important for the making of bones and keeping the bone density at good levels. In pregnant women not only their bones requires more calcium, fetus also requires calcium. As researches show that women create babies by providing the nutrients from their own system that means they dissolve themselves to make a new life. 

Dates are rich in antioxidants, in pregnancy more free radicals are formed due to fetus and therefore more heart issues, blood pressure and many other issues are faced by women which they normally don't have. These antioxidants can help reduce the damaging effect of free radicals and keep the ions more neutral .

Best ways to add dates in diet

- You can begin your day with eating few dates with warm milk that is most suitable for low nutritious people who feel weakness in their daily routine work.

- For bodybuilding you can use dates as the good source of muscle built up and for more sugars to increase size and weight. Add few dates to two glasses of  full skin milk and blend them to make date shake, it can be used as a substitute of artificial proteine shake. 

- Dates can be used after meals as a sweet dish which will in return help in digestion of food and bowel movement.

- Dates are used in many desserts as natural sweetener and as adding some taste and color to the dish. 

- Dates are an ideal ingredient in fruit salad adding more nutrition to the dish. For people who live on salads, or are vegan, dates can be a good source of energy, muscular building and nutrition.

Now you all know how important dates are to be used in our everyday diet. It has long term and short term benefits for our body. This is one of those items that cannot be overlooked in terms of getting nutrition for our body . In severe health conditions consulting a doctor is very essential. All the information that is provided here is to AVOID any medical condition, NOT TO TREAT  any medical issues.