Dr Joe Schwarcz: The benefits of dates

[arth_chart]

As an underweight person I eat arround 10-15 dates(3 cm long ) what I have observed that my constipation has gone, and yes I check my blood sugar it is okay.

[jeccym]

I don't think natural sugars are as dangerous as added sugars!!

[kennyopel]

Why would anyone think eating actual natural alkaline sugar needs to be cautious about it? It baffles when doctors say watch out for the sugar in fruits, no watch out for the processed sugar.

[banb]

Prophet Muhammad always ate dates and highly recommend them for good health.

[squeaker]

There was some research showing that when pregnant women ate 6 dates per day 1 month before delivery, their labours where much shorter and easier. And they also had less complications. Apparently dates contain a substance which ripened the cervix.

[avinashnaik]

After eating dates for 4 days I'm feeling energitic and strong I'm quite surprised

[rosenden]

When I eat too much dates I lose weight. I had only too much dates and coffee and tea and water for 10 day. I felt so healthy and clean and pure

[imaboud]

As an Arab who's addicted to dates, I've been eating 7 dates a day for years, and I'm feeling healthy and fit. But the 4 dates equals 2 cans of soda made me worried!!

[maplebob]

I think eating dates every day may have helped long term acid reflux.

I started eating dates every morning around July and recently I noticed that my reflux had stopped. And I can eat garlic again.

I had also been eating a hunk of green plantain before bed most nights but recently ( last two weeks) I stopped taking the plantain.

And this week, I was able to eat garlic cloves to combat a lingering cold.

[messerdesigns]

I’ve been eating dates with peanut butter in the morning, very satisfying.

[mr.vegeta]

Why would he compare date sugar, natural sugar to soda sugar?

[Ahmadnj]

Hi doctor
The Bedouins drink camel milk with dates a lot, because it is abundant in the desert, and this mixture is a health-booster and a tonic for the bedouin.

[JamieZero]

Well am no longer eating chocolate. Yea dude with a sweet tooth no longer needs biscuits and chocolate. That's how sweet they are.

[kebabremover]

I believe they have 60g of sugar in a 100g of dates. I don't think 1 date even weighs 60 grams by itself

[bobbyadkins]

I tried them for the first time today and I love them. Sweet as sugar.

[yangbwi]

A man named Mohamaad (peace be upob him) who lived 1400 years ago spoke about dates and its benefits. So as yourself a man who was sn orphan never schooled, how did he know this? He is/was the last n final Messenger of Allah (God)...

[mmabagain]

The container of my medjool dates says 30 grams of sugar for 2-3 dates. And they are not small dates.

[vilmahapon]

Thank you the explaination about Dates.watching from Philipines.

[viivanaa]

Had 15 for lunch oops. No bloating.. I could probably still eat another meal lol. I am underweight so not too worried about it. I guess it was just a pre-workout snack for now :P

[Rational_Investor]

A really interesting study would be to test patients undergoing surgical intervention, whether eating a diet that is higher in antioxidants (e.g., dates, cruciferous vegetables, etc.) results in less oxidative stress, improved healing response, and fewer overall complications than in patients consuming a conventional "North American" diet, typically low in antioxidants. Furthermore, the study should really use whole food sources of antioxidants to really make it meaningful and relevant. This would take some real thought to devise a prospective, randomized, blinded (ideally double-blinded, but this may be too impractical) controlled trial.