Scientific Benefits of Eating Dates
~ Introduction:
Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera), a monocotyledon, belongs to the family Palmae and the genus Phoenix.
Date palm is being cultivated extensively from prehistoric times for its edible fruit.
Dates have been included as a staple food in Middle East Asia and North East Africa for thousands of years.
The Date Palm is diocious, male and female plants being separate.
The date fruit is a berry and depending upon the variety and maturity, comes in colours like bright yellow, bright red and deep blackish red.
On pollination a female date flower takes about 200 days to ripen into fruit.
Dates can be consumed both before and after drying.
Dates can also be made into syrups and chopped to make a number of sweet dishes.
~ Muslims generally break their fast by eating dates. Why? Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is reported to have said: "If anyone of you is fasting, let him break his fast with dates. In case he does not have them, then with water. Verily water is a purifier."
The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to break his fast by eating some dates before offering Maghrib prayer, and if ripe dates were not available, he used to substitute them with some dried grapes. When they too were not available, he used to have a few sips of water, according to some reports. Modern science has proved that dates are part of a healthy diet. They contain sugar, fat and proteins, as well as important vitamins. Hence the great importance attached to them by the Prophet.
Arabs usually combine dates with milk and yogurt or bread, butter and fish. This combination indeed makes a self-sufficient and tasty diet for both mind and body. Dates and date palms have been mentioned in the Holy Qur'an 20 times, thus showing their importance. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) likened a good Muslim to the date palm, saying, "Among trees, there is a tree like a Muslim. Its leaves do not fall."
~ Let us wait for a second and ponder: Why Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) and His Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) prescribed dates for us to eat?
Let us look at the benefits of eating dates:
~ Nutrients Present in dates:
Date fruit has high nutritional value and is high in sugar comprising up to 70% of the fruit.
Glucose and fructose are the main constituents of the sugar. Dates are poor in proteins [up to 3%].
Date fruit is very rich in essential minerals. Date fruit is a a good source of potassium, iron and calcium.
It also contains fair amount of chlorine, magnesium, copper, phosphorus and sulphur.
Dates are good sources of A and B vitamins. Dietary fibre makes up to 5% of the date fruit.
~ Antioxidant nature of dates:
Tannins which are polyphenol antioxidants constitute about 3% the dry weight of the dates. These tannins give the brown colour to the dates.
They also help in the removal of free-radicals, thereby giving immunity to our body and protection from free-radical caused diseases.
~ Health Benefits of Dates:
Health benefits of dates are uncountable, as this fruit is affluent in natural fibres. Dates are even rich in several vitamins and minerals. These natural products contain:
Oil, Calcium, Sulphur, Iron, Potassium, Phosphorous, Manganese, Copper and Magnesium which are advantageous for health.
It is said that consumption of one date daily is necessary for a balanced and healthy diet.
Dates help in fighting constipation, intestinal disorders, weight gain, heart problems, sexual weakness, diarrhoea and abdominal cancer.
Health benefits of dates have made them the best nourishment for muscles development. People consume dates in several ways, like mixing the paste of the dates with milk, yoghurt or with bread or butter to make the food tasty and healthy. This paste is beneficial for both adults and children, especially during the time of recovery. According to the modern medicine survey, it is known that dates are useful in preventing abdominal cancer. It is also seen that many Muslims break their fast by eating dates and water according to their traditions. Breaking fast with eating dates helps us to avoid overeating of the food after the fast. When the body absorbs the nutritional value of the dates, the feeling of hunger gets pacified.
Dates are termed as a crown of sweets and ideal food which easily balances and digests food. It gives extra energy to a tired human body within half an hour after taking it. Dates are considered to be the best diet for confinement of the women. American Cancer Society recommends intake of 20-35 grams of dietary fibre in a day, supplied through dates. It is said that taking one date in a day will help you to maintain your healthy eyes for your lifetime. They are quiet effective in guarding the night blindness problems.
Let us look at the benefits of eating dates one by one:
- Constipation: Date is termed to be a laxative food. This is the reason that dates are beneficial for people suffering from constipation. For getting the laxative effect from dates, you need to soak dates for one full night in water. You should consume these soaked dates in the morning like syrup to get their actual advantages.
- Intestinal Disorders: The nicotinic content that is present in the dates is said to be beneficial for curing any kinds of intestinal disorders. Continuous intake of dates helps to maintain a check on the growth of the pathological organisms and thus, helps in the rise of friendly bacteria in the intestines.
- Weight Gain: Dates are said to be a part of healthy diet. They consist of sugar, fats, proteins as well as many essential vitamins. If the dates are consumed with the paste of cucumber, one can easily come out from the problem of over-slimming. One kilogram of dates contains almost 3,000 calories. These calories alone are sufficient to meet the daily requirements of a human body.
Aisha (radi Allahu anha), wife of Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), was also reported to have used dates combined with cucumber to treat her over-slim condition! She said, "they've tried to fatten me giving me everything. But I did not become fat. Then they fattened me with cucumber and ripe dates and I gained!" Aisha (radi Allahu anha) was quite correct, as we now know that one kilogram of dates contains nearly 3,000 calories which alone are sufficient to supply the minimum daily requirements of an active man for one full day.
- Healthy Heart: Dates are quite helpful in maintaining your heart in a healthy condition. When soaked for a night and crushed in the morning and consumed, they prove to be quite advantageous for weak hearts. They help in fortifying the heart, if taken twice in a week.
- Sexual Weakness: Dates are even beneficial for increasing sexual stamina in the human body. A handful of dates, when soaked in fresh goat's milk for the night and then grinded in the same milk with the mixture of cardamom powder and honey, becomes a very useful tonic for increasing sex endurance and sterility caused due to functional disorders.
- Diarrhea: Ripe dates contain potassium. Potassium is beneficial for controlling diarrhea. They are easily digestible, which helps to cope up with the problems of diarrhea.
- Intoxication: Dates are known as an excellent remedy for alcoholic intoxication. Dates provide quick relief in the case of alcoholic intoxication. They should be rubbed and soaked overnight for getting more nutritious values from them.
- Abdominal Cancer: Dates are beneficial for curing abdominal cancer. They work as useful tonic for all age groups. They work as better as the medicines, and are natural and do not bear any side effects in the body. They can be easily digested and used for supplying extra and needed energy. The desert population which is dependent on dates as food is found to have less cancer diseases.
- The seed powder of dates is used in traditional medicines.
- Pregnancy: It is experimentally found that dates contain certain stimulants which help in strengthening the contractile muscles of uterine wall in last term of the pregnancy.
Dates help in the dilation of the uterus and smooth delivery of the infant with reduced bleeding.
Date fruit, because of its high iron content, is recommended for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
InshaAllah, a separate article will be published on "Dates and its uses during pregnancy" showing why Allah (The Most Wise) asked Maryam (alayhis Salaam) to eat dates during labour pains.
Note: Next time you eat date, do not eat it with the intention that it has scientific benefits. Eat it with the intention that it is Sunnah to eat dates and hence, you are eating it because the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "Verily, actions are by intentions."
And Allah knows best.
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