Monk wanderers and soldiers of the army of Alexander the Great argued, and sometimes by their own example, proved that, using only dates and water, you can live long and without irreparable health consequences. How many calories are in dates and how remarkable is their composition, which is able to replace almost all nutrients? Let's try to deal with this issue.
Material Content:
Chemical composition and nutritional value
Consider the nutrient composition of 100 grams of the edible part of date fruits:
- proteins - 2.5 g;
- unsaturated and polyunsaturated FAs - 0.5 g;
- mono- and disaccharides - 69.2 g;
- water - 20 g;
- organic acids - 0.3 g;
- fiber (dietary fiber) - 6.5 g;
- ash - 1.5 g.
The carbohydrate component of these tropical fruits is represented by natural types of sugar (fructose, glucose and sucrose), which are able to quickly replenish the energy costs of the body. After hard work (mental / physical), several date fruits will come in handy.
Fiber, which is often not enough in the diet of a modern person, in 100 g of this dried fruit is enough to cover the daily norm by 34%.
How many calories in dates
Eating date palm fruits can be fresh or dried. The latter are sold in many stores. In fairness, I must say that such dried fruits are in no way inferior in their usefulness to fresh fruits, since only the specific gravity of water decreases.
Fresh dates are of three degrees of maturity, each of which is called in its own way:
- dairy (character) - hard and dry dates;
- full (rotab) - the fruits are soft and very sweet;
- the last degree (tamar) - the flesh becomes thick and viscous, like honey.
The more ripe the dates, the more sugars in them, and, therefore, their energy value is higher.
How many calories in dried dates will directly depend on their variety, of which there are more than four hundred in the world. On an industrial scale, dates of varieties Madjhol and Deglet Nur are most often cultivated and imported into other countries.
The table below shows the average energy values of these fruits (without stones), calculated per 100 grams and 1 pc.
| Product | Calories, kcal | |
|---|---|---|
| per 100 g | in 1 pc. | |
| Fresh dates | 187 | 23 |
| Dried dates | 292 | 35 |
Dates have high nutritional value, in connection with this their second name is “desert bread”. Moreover, they use not only pulp, often bones are used instead of coffee.
The content of vitamins, trace elements
Vitamins and macronutrients in dates form a biologically active cocktail that can improve both the condition of the whole organism and the work of its individual organs.
By eating 100 g of dates, the daily requirement for pantothenic acid (B5) can be satisfied by 16%, niacin (PP) by 9.5%, and thiamine (B1) by 6.5%. In addition, the fruits in sufficient quantities contain vitamins B2, B6, B9, C, provitamin A, vitamins D, and K.
As for the beneficial minerals, 100 g of the product can make up the daily norm in magnesium by 17.3%. In potassium - by 14.8%, in iron - by 8.3% and in phosphorus - by 7%. Iron and copper, responsible for the red and brown color of the fruit, take part in the synthesis of red blood cells and are part of almost all antibodies that protect the body.
The benefits of the product for the body
The benefits of this fruit have been the subject of close scrutiny. Everyone who dealt with this issue agreed that this fruit has a comprehensive positive effect on the whole body.
As well as:
- improves concentration and improves memory even when overworked;
- makes hair and nails more strong and shiny;
- helps to deal with stress, removing irritability and normalizing the psycho-emotional background, and also improves performance;
- restores joints, eliminating inflammation;
- establishes blood circulation processes, preventing thrombosis, making the heart walls stronger, increasing the number of red blood cells and lowering cholesterol;
- It stimulates metabolism and has antiparasitic properties.
According to experts, to obtain the necessary dose of nutrients, it is enough to eat 10 fruits of a date palm per day. Even a low-carb diet will not be an obstacle to their use, if there are moderate dried fruits, 40 minutes after the main meal.
Contraindications
Do not flatter yourself with a long list of useful properties of dates, considering that they are allowed to be used by everyone without exception and without limiting portions.
In these fruits, there may still be a hidden threat associated with the fact that:
- "Desert bread" is absorbed for a rather long time in the stomach, which can cause disturbances in peristalsis and constipation;
- in chronic or acute gastritis, dates can activate or provoke pathological processes in the gastrointestinal tract, therefore, for patients with such a history, the daily norm should not exceed 3 fruits;
- the sweet and sticky surface of dried dates often becomes a favorable environment for pathogenic microflora and other contaminants. This can lead to unpredictable health problems when using the product. Therefore, the acquired fruits must be washed in running cool water.
The calorie content of dried dates, although not very high, but fast carbohydrates (various types of sugar) are deposited on the sides, so their use should be limited to people with obesity and diabetes.
