Dates are extremely sweet; getting one in your mouth almost tastes like refined sugar. The good thing is that unlike refined sugar, dates are healthy and provide many nutrients to our body. And although they have a high caloric level, we shouldn’t discard dates from the daily diet, since we’d lose the opportunity to benefit from all its properties.

Dates are rich in minerals such as potassium, magnesium, iron and calcium. Dates don’t contain cholesterol and have plenty of fiber. And in fact, is this fiber which prevents its sugars pass quickly into the blood, and prevents constipation problems.

By having a high content of natural sugar, they are a perfect snack for those who exercise. Dates also contain vitamin B5 which enables higher performance in athletes.  They are also ideal to be consumed by pregnant women, as they have folic acid; by hypertensives, as lowers blood pressure; and those suffering from nerves, since eating them gives us calm and fights stress. However, not everyone should eat dates as this fruit is contraindicated for diabetics because of its high percentage of sugar.

While we should be cautious about consuming them, dates are a great option to relieve anxiety between meals as they provide satiety. They also work as a natural sweetener for any preparation or refreshing drink.

Consume them in moderation, I promise you will love to taste its sweetness.

By Erika De Paz

@ErikaDPS