Date fruits are wild or cultivated, the plant is endemic to dry land areas. The plant is commonly grown in arid regions of Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, and has been introduced in North America and Australia. (Amadou, 2016)
A very valuable compound such as oleic acid could be extracted from the pit (the seed) with other unsaturated fatty acids and used for animal feed or human nutrition. (Date Palm: A Wealth of Healthy Food, 2016)
Palm date fruits can be eaten before the final stage of ripening, which is called Rotab (50% soft brown color and 50% hard yellow or red colors), or consumed after complete ripening and offered as Tamr (100% soft brown color). (The in vitro antioxidant activity of different types of palm dates (Phoenix dactylifera) syrups, December 2014,)
You have the choice to consume more glucose and fructose in rutab fruits or more sucrose in tamr dates, or a balance between reducing and nonreducing sugars in semidry dates. Even though more than three-fourths of the fruit consists of sugars, the rest is very rich in vitamins, dietary fibers, phenolic compounds or antioxidants, and minerals. (Date Palm: A Wealth of Healthy Food, 2016)
In traditional medicine, palm date fruits or syrups are highly recommended for treatment of liver diseases and to be consumed by pregnant women before and after delivery. In addition, palm date fruits or date syrups (or dibs) can be used as an ingredient for beverages, in confectionery, bakery products and ice cream. (The in vitro antioxidant activity of different types of palm dates (Phoenix dactylifera) syrups, December 2014,)
Dates are traditionally used for several purposes although the nutritional significance of the date fruits as food is beyond imagination. Chemical analysis of date fruits indicated large variation in nutritional composition, depending on the species cultivars. Research on the desert date (Balanites aegyptiaca Del.) indicated that the fruit species is source of significant bioactive components with nutritional health benefits. The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) contains a high concentration of sugar, its main component. Date fruits in general contain numbers of components of polyphenols, including phenolic acids, hydroxycinnamates, flavonoid glycosides, coumarins, alkaloids and proanthocyanidin oligomers, flavor volatile compounds, and more constituents that vary with different date varieties. (Amadou, 2016)
Date extract could protect our bodies from the damage of free radicals or reactive oxygen species and even attenuate the effect of diarrheal activity and proved to be effective as neuroprotective against bilateral common carotid artery occlusion. (Date Palm: A Wealth of Healthy Food, 2016)
The date palm and desert date differ in color and shape, and mostly in the taste of fruit flesh taste because of the large difference in sugar content. (Amadou, 2016)
Nutritional facts per 1 King Date (medjool) : 66 kcal, 18g of Carbohydrates ( 16 g Sugars and 2 g Dietary Fibers), Vitamin A, Iron and Calcium.
Nutritional facts per 1 Date deglet noor: 20 kcal, 5g Carbohydrates ( 4 g Sugars and 1 g Dietary Fibers), Vitamin C, Iron and Calcium.
Tip of the day
Try to:
1. Make whole-wheat date bars.
2. Add them in your yogurt or milk.
3.Combine them with good sources of fat such as tahini, nuts and dark chocolate.
Bibliography
Amadou, Issoufou. 2016. Date Fruits: Nutritional Composition of Dates (Balanites aegyptiaca Delile and Phoenix dactylifera L.). Nutritional Composition of Fruit Cultivars. 2016. Date Palm: A Wealth of Healthy Food. Farag, K.M. 2016. s.l. : Reference Module in Food Science, 2016. Pages 356–360.
The in vitro antioxidant activity of different types of palm dates (Phoenix dactylifera) syrups. Mohammed Al-Mamarya, c, Molham Al-Haborib, Adel S. Al-Zubairib. December 2014,. 6, s.l. : Arabian Journal of Chemistry, December 2014,, Vol. 7. Pages 964–971.
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