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1. Dates are loaded with the energy you need
every day - to win a marathon or get you through a tough day. With only 24 calories
per date (248 per 100 gram serving), dates are high in dietary fiber, carbohydrates,
and contain more potassium than bananas! Yet they are virtually fat, cholesterol
and sodium free! 2.
Dates provide essential vitamins and minerals - such as B-complex vitamins, magnesium
and iron. Only a handful of dates - five or six - will help you meet your 5-A-Day
goal for fruit. 3.
A handful of dates will help you meet the 5-A-Day goal. Five to six delicious
dates or a cup of chopped dates equals one serving. Great tasting, power-packed
California dates are part of the USDA Pyramid's food group. Eating dates can help
you achieve the recommended goal for fruit servings each day. 4.
The American Cancer Society recommends that you consume 20-35 grams of dietary
fiber a day. Dietary fiber comes in two forms - soluble and insoluble. Each serves
a valuable function. Insoluble fiber increased the rate at which food moves through
the digestive system. Soluble fiber may help control diabetes by decreasing elevated
blood glucose levels. Soluble fiber also had been found to help lower serum cholesterol
levels, particularly undesirable loud density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. California
dates are a good source of dietary fiber. A serving of power-packed dates - just
5 to 6 six dates - can provide 3 grams of dietary fiber. That's 14 percent of
your recommended daily value. 5.
A serving of power-packed dates contains 31 grams of carbohydrates, making them
a powerhouse of energy. Carbohydrates include 3 grams of dietary fiber and 29
grams of naturally occurring sugars such as fructose, glucose and sucrose to provide
quick energy and are readily used by the body. Dates are a perfect energy boosting
snack. 6.
Ounce per ounce, pound for pound, dates are one of the best natural sources of
potassium. Potassium is an essential mineral your body needs to maintain muscle
contractions including the vital heart muscle. Potassium is needed to maintain
a healthy nervous system and to balance the body's metabolism.
Since potassium
is not stored in the body, and much is lost in perspiration, it must be continually
replenished. As you consume potassium you excrete sodium, helping to keep blood
pressure down. As people age, their kidneys become less efficient at eliminating
sodium. About a 400 mg increase in potassium intake has been associated with a
40% reduction in the risk of stroke. This roughly amounts to one additional serving
daily of California dates. 7.
Eating dates and drinking water is an ideal, natural way to replenish the potassium.
A serving of dates contain 240 milligrams of potassium or 7% of the recommended
daily value. Bite for bite, they have three times the amount of potassium as bananas! 8.
Dates contain a variety of B-complex vitamins - thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin
B-6 and antithetic acid. These vitamins have a variety of functions that help
maintain a healthy body - to metabolize carbohydrates and maintain blood glucose
levels, fatty acids for energy, and they help make hemoglobin, the red and white
blood cells. 9.
Magnesium is essential for healthy bone development and for energy metabolism.
One serving of dates provides 4% of the suggested daily intake of magnesium. Iron
is essential to red blood cell production. Red blood cells carry all the nutrients
to cells throughout the body. One serving of dates contains nearly a third of
the Recommended Dietary Allowance for iron. | 
