Dates Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): High
Saturated fat: Low
Fiber: Very high
Sodium: Low (fresh or dried fruit);
High (dried fruit treated with sodium sulfur compounds)
Major vitamin contribution: B vitamins
Major mineral contribution: Iron,
About the Nutrients in Dates
Dates are a high-carbohydrate food, rich in fiber and packed with sugar
(as much as 70 percent of the total weight of the fruit). Dates are also a
good source of non-heme iron, the inorganic iron found in plant foods,
plus potassium, niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin, but they are an unusual
fruit because they have no vitamin C at all.
A serving of 10 whole pitted dates has 7 g dietary fiber, and 0.95 mg iron
(6 percent of the RDA for a woman of childbearing age).
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve Dates
With meat or with a vitamin C rich food. Both enhance your body's ability
to use the non-heme iron in plants (which is ordinarily much less useful
than heme iron, the organic iron in foods of animal origin).
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude Dates
Low-sodium diet (dried dates, if treated with sodium sulfite)
Look for: Soft, shiny brown dates in tightly sealed packages.
Store opened packages of dates in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped to
keep the fruit from drying out. (The dates sold in American markets are
partly dried; they retain sufficient moisture to keep them soft and
tasty.) Properly stored dates will stay fresh for several weeks.
To slice dates neatly, chill them in the refrigerator or freezer for an
hour. The colder they are, the easier it will be to slice them. If you're
adding dates to a cake or bread batter, coat them first with flour to keep
them from dropping through the batter.
What Happens When You Cook Dates
The dates will absorb moisture from a cake or bread batter and soften.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits of Dates
Potassium benefits. Because potassium is excreted in urine, potassium-rich
foods are often recommended for people taking diuretics. In addition, a
diet rich in potassium (from food) is associated with a lower risk of
stroke. A 1998 Harvard School of Public Health analysis of data from the
long-running Health Professionals Study shows 38 percent fewer strokes
among men who ate nine servings of high potassium foods a day vs. those
who ate less than four servings. Among men with high blood pressure,
taking a daily 1,000 mg potassium supplementóabout the amount of potassium
in 3/4 cup pitted datesóreduced the incidence of stroke 60 percent.
Adverse Effects Associated with Dates
Sulfite sensitivity. Dates contain polyphenoloxidase, an enzyme that
oxidizes phenols in the fruit to brown compounds that turn its flesh dark
in the presence of air. To keep dates from darkening when they are dried,
they may be treated with sulfur compounds called sulfites (sulfur dioxide,
sodium bisulfite, or sodium metabisulfite). Treated dates may trigger
serious allergic reactions, including potentially fatal anaphylactic
shock, in people sensitive to sulfites.