Dates are one of those foods that in the UK are often only thought about at Christmas, but that is a shame. It is the date palm that produces the edible fruit which has been a staple food in the Middle East for thousands of years.

In 2003, an article was published in the International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition entitled ‘The fruit of the date palm: its possible use as the best food for the future?‘. This article was extolling the health benefits of dates stating that they contain at least 15 minerals including calcium, selenium, sulphur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and magnesium. Dates also contain 23 types of amino acids, some of which are not present in other fruits such as oranges, apples and bananas.

Dates are also rich in natural fibre including pectin which has important health benefits such as controlling high cholesterol. Dates also contain a high percentage of natural sugars so do eat them in moderation when you are aiming to lose weight but they may help to satisfy a sugar craving and are much better than going for the chocolate bar or biscuits.

The article finished by saying ‘In many ways, dates may be considered as an almost ideal food, providing a wide range of essential nutrients and potential health benefits’.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 8th, 2007 at 1:47 pm and is filed under Ingredient Spotlights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.