עברית
Health and Nutrition
7 Facts About Dates
This sweet fruit from the Seven Species is much lower in calories than ice cream or chocolate, can help ease depression and anxiety, and among Bedouins who eat it regularly, heart disease and cancer are rare—meet the date.
- Dudu Cohen
- |Updated
- Despite being very sweet, dates are low in fat (less than 0.5%) and rich in nutrients. Compared to desserts like ice cream or chocolate, dates are far healthier—ice cream contains thousands of times more fat, and chocolate has about twice the calories per 100 grams. In other words, you can enjoy the sweetness of dates without guilt. Five dates (45 grams) contain roughly 115 calories.
Dried dates are healthier than many other dried fruits because they do not contain preservatives like sodium benzoate or sulfur dioxide. The fruit stays fresh for a long time simply with refrigeration.
A ripe date is about 80% sugar. The remaining composition includes protein, fat, and minerals such as copper, sulfur, iron, magnesium, calcium, fatty acids, and amino acids. Dates also provide a significant amount of dietary fiber.
Dates support several bodily functions. They help cleanse and purify the intestines and may aid in treating bronchitis, bladder infections, stomach ulcers, colds, fever, cough, sore throat, edema, and more.
Interestingly, among Bedouins, who consume dates in large quantities, the prevalence of heart disease and cancer is extremely low.
Dates are rich in potassium, which helps regulate sodium levels to prevent dehydration, maintain blood pH, stimulate insulin production, and support the health of the heart, kidneys, muscles, nervous system, and more. They also boost the immune system and may help alleviate depression and anxiety.
Beyond the fruit itself, all parts of the date palm have practical uses. The leaves are used for roofing during Sukkot by both Jews and desert nomads, the spikes that hold the fruit are used for weaving baskets and making brooms, and the trunk, once hollowed out, serves for construction, roofing, and even livestock troughs.
