31/03/2021
(2/6) 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬
▪️Dates were the most favored food of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Its health benefits & nutritional value are well known across the world due to the presence of rich high profile nutrients & their health promoting properties. Date palm is a multipurpose tree providing fiber, carbohydrates, minerals, & vitamins besides having extreme medicinal properties.
🔸𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓: Polyphenol containing dates like Ajwa were found to have anticancer effects. So they can be used as an adjuvant therapy with conventional chemotherapy to achieve a synergistic effect against cancer.
🔸𝑯𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒚: Whenever a liver is damaged, the patient suffers from hepatic disturbance followed by liver failure. A major cause of liver failure is poisoning from certain chemical substances administered or produced in the body through drugs or medicines. Several studies prove the protective effect of dates on hepatorenal toxicity. Proanthocyanidin in dates can be used in treatment or prevention of toxic actions of different substances such as carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), thioacetamide (TAA), & dimethoate poisoning in liver.
🔸𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒔: It is found that consuming low glycemic index (GI) diets are useful in the management of diabetes. Dates can be classified as low GI superfood, due to the presence of high fructose, as fructose is sweeter and less diabetogenic than glucose. Seed extracts of Ajwa and Sukkari can restore the function of liver and kidney & balances the oxidative stress condition in diabetics.
🔸𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚: For pregnant & postnatal women, the use of dates is particularly relevant. The consumption of dates by women before & after delivery can act as a tonic to strengthen the uterine muscles. It's concluded that the consumption of date fruit in the past 4 weeks before labor significantly reduced the need of labor induction and augmentation & produced a more favorable delivery outcome. Thus, dates are the compact superfood, with a high fiber, iron, trace elements, antioxidant, rich energy content, along with low GI, a perfect choice for today’s health-conscious generation.