Eating 100 grams of dates a day does not cause an increase in blood sugar and can even improve the quality of cholesterol in the blood. This is what researchers from the Technion and the Rambam Medical Center found in research they carried out which is about to be published in the journal "JAFC".

Prof. Michael Aviram of the Technion's Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and the Rambam Medical Center has been researching for many years the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. In light of the fact that not only the level but also the quality of cholesterol in the blood determine the risk factor of heart and vascular disease (heart attack and strokes), researchers made an effort to find fruits and vegetables containing especially active antioxidants, which can improve the quality of cholesterol in the blood by delaying its oxidation.

"Oxidation of cholesterol is of central importance in its absorption in the artery wall and could cause blockage of the blood supply to the heart and brain, a phenomenon that causes heart attack or stroke," explains Prof. Aviram. In his scientific publications, he was the first to show that the most effective fruits are the pomegranate, red wine (the grape) and olive oil. This was after he researched the effects of dozens of fruits and vegetables on delaying the development of heart and vascular diseases.

"Now it is the turn of the date to be researched," says Prof. Aviram. "The suspicion has arisen that since we are talking about a "sugar bomb," a diet rich in dates could bring about an increase in blood sugar level. In research carried out on healthy subjects, it was found that eating 100 grams of dates daily over one month did not cause an increase in blood sugar levels. Not only was this found but the level of fats (triglycerides) in the blood decreased significantly, as well as the amount of oxidation of fats in the blood."

In this research, the Halawy and Medjool dates were studied and it was found that the Halawy has slightly better health properties than the Medjool. Thus the date joins the list of fruits that protect against atherosclerosis.

And another new and interesting antioxidant. Recently published research by Dr. Hamutal Borochov-Neori and her group Southern Arava R&D, carried out in cooperation with Prof. Aviram's research group, showed for the first time that drinking the juice of the South African fruit the marula (100 ml daily for three weeks) has a positive influence on the quantity and quality of cholesterol in the blood.