How many dates can you eat in a day?
In this article we are going to answer how many dates can you eat in a day, what are dates, are dates healthy to eat, are fresh dates better than dried dates, what are the benefits of eating dates, and how can you add dates to your diet.
How many dates can you eat in a day?
The official serving size of dates to count them as one fruit in your diet is 5 dates or about ¼ cup of dates. There are several studies that have confirmed that for weight loss, eating dates as part of a healthy and balanced diet, with calorie restriction, 4 to 6 dates a day help with weight loss.
The theory along with this is that eating dates, 4 to 6 per day, on a very clean diet, helps with the sugar cravings you might have and helps you stick to your eating regime to help you lose weight.
It is very important to emphasize that for weight loss, you need to stick to a very strict, healthy, and balanced diet. It won’t help if you eat other sugary foods such as candies and also dates.
Are dates healthy to eat?
Yes, dates are a healthy fruit to add to your diet. Even if dates are one of the fruits with the highest amount of sugar, they are packed with a lot of nutrients.
100 grams of dried dates contains 282 calories, 0 grams of fat, 656 mg of potassium, 75 grams of carbohydrates of which 63 grams are from sugar and 8 grams are from fiber, and 2.5 grams of protein.
They also contain a good amount of iron and calcium and a very small amount of vitamin C and vitamin A.
Are fresh dates better than dried dates?
Fresh dates and dried dates are very healthy to eat. Dried dates undergo a process of drying that loses water content and has higher sugar content. It is not that fresh dates are better but they contain much less sugar than dried dates.
Fresh dates | Dried dates | |
Calories | 20 calories | 66 calories |
Carbohydrates | 5.33 grams | 18 grams |
Fat | 0 grams | 0 grams |
Dried dates have almost three times more carbohydrates than fresh fruit because in the process of drying fruit water is lost and sugar content increases.
What are the benefits of eating dates?
Dates, fresh and dried, are very healthy to add to your diet. Even if fresh dates have been through a drying process, they both are packed with a lot of benefits such as
- Help with better heart health
- Improving digestion
- Relieves constipation
- Helping maintain bone health
- Energy boosters
Helping with better heart health
Dates are high in potassium and dietary fiber. These two nutrients are essential for proper heart health. Potassium helps the heart work properly and dietary fiber lowers cholesterol.
Improves digestion
Dates are an excellent source of dietary fiber which helps promote a healthy gut microbe.
Relieves constipation
Fiber is essential to fight constipation. Dates together with a good amount of water and exercise are the perfect combo to fight constipation.
Helps maintain bone health
Dates are high in magnesium, calcium, and potassium which are essential for proper bone health. Magnesium helps calcium to be absorbed correctly.
Energy boosters
Dates have a high amount of sugar which gives you an extra boost of energy when needed.
How can you add dates to your diet?
Dried and fresh dates can be added in different ways to your diet, some ideas are
- Make a date shake
- Bake them in a delicious dessert
- Add them to your favorite salad
- Add them to your trail mix
- Mix them with some milk and add it to cereal.
Other FAQs about Dates that you may be interested in.
Conclusion
This article answered how many dates can you eat in a day, what are dates, are dates healthy to eat, are fresh dates better than dried dates, what are the benefits of eating dates, and how can you add dates to your diet.