When you think about foods touted as the ones most likely to keep you slim and healthy, fruits and vegetables like apples, broccoli, and carrots most likely come to mind. What doesn’t? Dates.
Dates, you say? You mean those dried fruits that look like over-extended prunes and are very, very sweet? Yup, the very same. It turns out that dates have some amazing properties when it comes to keeping your body in its best health ever, including combatting cholesterol, high blood pressure, coronary issues, and even strokes.
How does that work, you ask? Let’s explore.
What do most of us struggle with constantly? Our weight, of course. Despite being sweet as candy (a benefit in that it might satisfy that sweet tooth), the nutrients in this fruit can actually help you control your calories and keep your weight where you want it to be.
When it comes to cholesterol, dates can also be a wonder, because they help control LDL, or what’s commonly referred to as “bad” cholesterol. By helping to keep fats from clogging up both blood vessels and your heart, dates provide additional health benefits that are invaluable.
For women especially, getting enough iron in your bloodstream can be a constant battle. Instead of downing massive iron pills, get your fill from dates! They are iron-packed and also keep blood oxygen levels moving, while regulating your red blood cell count and hemoglobin levels.
Few things impact our health more directly than our blood pressure. Because dates are packed with potassium and are virtually sodium-free, they can go a long way towards helping to regulate yours.
Have a handful of dates for breakfast or a snack, and the magnesium they contain will actually give your circulation a jump start. Although you should, of course, always check with your doctor if you have any blood pressure issues, this fruit could be part of an ongoing control program to keep yours in check.
And that same potassium can reduce your risk of stroke significantly as well, so feel free to enjoy a healthy serving or two of dates each day.
One last thing: while nobody likes to talk about it, two of the least pleasant things that can happen to us as humans are the two ends of the bowel movement spectrum: constipation and diarrhea. While dates are a natural laxative (drinking date-soaked water first thing in the morning will get your system moving), they also prevent diarrhea with that same magical potassium, which keeps the “good” bacteria in your intestines working hard, while eliminating the kind that you don’t want.
So, there you have it. Have yourself a date night every night, and watch your health blossom! This could be the best relationship you’ve had in a very, very long time.
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