Dates really are good for you

Dates, Phoenix dactylifera L. Arecaceae, are often eaten in the month of Ramadhan by tradition, but did you know they also happen to be good for you?

A March 2014 review of the literature lists the evidence found so far for the health benefits of dates, listing pro-fertility, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour and ant-diabetic effects among them.

Individual studies found on PubMed include a 2002 study on dates, which found that they are could be quite potent in preventing the mutations which could lead to cancer. Another study, this time published in 2009, tested healthy subjects who ate 100g of dates every day for four weeks. 

The research found that despite their sugar content, the Hallawi and Medjool dates consumed did not affect their blood sugar levels. Researchers also concluded that dates would help to prevent plaque from building up in arteries. Hallawi dates were found to contain different antioxidants from Medjool dates and seemed more potent in their health-giving effects, pointing to different date varieties providing different levels of benefits.

Ajwah dates, which are highly prized and only cultivated in Saudi Arabia, have been shown to protect the liver and are said to contain more polyphenols (chemicals which may protect against illness) than other types of dates.

Ajwah dates, bought in Doha, Qatar.

Date pits also have their uses. Powdered date pits have been used as a coffee substitute, for example. A 2012 study made on date pit extract also found that the extract - which was fed to the mice - also inhibited mutations. Another 2014 study on date pit extract, tested on rats, reported that date pit extract has promising indications for raising chemicals in the body that promote 'good' cholesterol.

According to religious tradition, Ajwah dates have protective effects against illness or poison. It's still a far cry from the medical research as it stands to prescribing particular types of dates or making an extract out of date pits to maintain or improve health, but the next time your local supermarket stocks dates, it probably wouldn't hurt to try some.