Contents:
- Medical Video: Why Honey Is Healthier Than Sugar
- 1. Stabilize blood sugar levels
- 2. Reducing triglyceride levels
- 3. Meet nutritional needs
- 4. Increase energy
- Honey and dates are also practical for consumption
Medical Video: Why Honey Is Healthier Than Sugar
If you start to find dates that are sold in supermarkets, at roadside fruit sellers, or in some places that sell dates, you could say you are entering the month of Ramadan.
Yes, there are indeed some foods whose popularity has increased in the month of Ramadan - one of them dates. Many people eat dates directly, as well as combined with honey as a delicious takjil dish.
Date palm trees grow in tropical regions of the world. The taste is sweet and easy to eat, making dates a lot targeted to be a healthy snack during the fasting month.
Not even a few people like to mix dates with a few drops of honey to get a tastier taste.
Yes, a combination of dates and honey is believed to be able to support body health during fasting, including:
1. Stabilize blood sugar levels
When fasting, you tend to consume a lot of sweetness that comes from food and drink at dawn and breaking fast. If you are worried about a surge in blood sugar levels, consumption of dates and honey can be an option.
A study published in the Nutrition Journal stated that although dates contain high amounts of natural sugar, dates have a low glycemic index. So, you don't need to worry about blood sugar rising rapidly after you eat it.
So is honey. The sweet taste typical of honey can be an ideal alternative as a substitute for sugar. Eating too much sugar will contribute to excess calories without providing benefits. While adding honey to your food and drink, it can sweeten your taste while giving your body a variety of good nutrients.
Even so, diabetics must consult with your doctor how much dates and honey you can consume while fasting.
2. Reducing triglyceride levels
Not much different from ordinary days, food and drinks that are consumed "carelessly" at dawn and breaking fast, certainly can have a bad impact on the health of the body. For example, eating foods with high content of calories, sugar and fat can be one of the triggers to increase triglyceride levels in the body.
This increase in triglycerides then triggers various diseases, including heart disease and diabetes. Interestingly, reported from the Healthline page, several studies have shown that consumption of honey can reduce high triglyceride levels.
This is also supported by a study published in Scientific World Journal, comparing the consumption of honey and sugar to increased triglyceride levels. The result, as many as 11.19 percent lower triglyceride levels in the group who consumed honey.
Similar to honey, dates are also allegedly effective in reducing body triglyceride levels. A study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that eating dates can reduce triglyceride levels by 8-15 percent better.
3. Meet nutritional needs
Various activities undertaken during fasting, require the body to always be fit in all conditions. One practical and easy way you can do that is by eating dates and honey, both at dawn and breaking.
The reason is, dates contain various vitamins and minerals needed to optimize the health of the body. Like B vitamins in dates useful in helping the digestive process of food as well as the formation of new blood cells. Not only that, vitamin A and vitamin K contained in dates are also believed to be able to maintain a healthy body while you fast.
The amount of minerals needed by the body is not as large as other nutrients, but if it is not fulfilled properly it will be dangerous for health. Therefore, dates contribute important minerals needed by the body, especially during fasting when your meal time is only at dawn and breaking, for example copper, manganese, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc.
All good nutrients from dates will be even more optimal if you consume them with a few drops of honey. Yes, honey is no less good in supplying nutrients that are important for the body during fasting. Because honey contains many important antioxidants - such as phenols, flavonoids and organic acids.
These antioxidants are often associated with a reduced risk of heart attack, stroke, several types of cancer, and are believed to improve eye health.
4. Increase energy
Having fasting should not weaken your body's energy. Even though it is required to hold food and drink for approximately 13 hours, you can still meet your energy needs by eating honey and dates at dawn, or when breaking fast to restore lost body energy.
Because, in one tablespoon of honey weighing 21 grams contains 64 calories and 17 grams of sugar - such as fructose, glucose, maltose, and sucrose, while dates are a natural source of fructose.
The contents will be processed into calories, which can be relied on to increase the body's energy that has been drained while you are active in fasting.
Honey and dates are also practical for consumption
There are various ways you can try to eat honey and dates - for example by eating it together, processing it into a light snack, or eating dates accompanied by mixing honey in a drink.
However, if you want a more practical way, you can choose products that have combined dates and honey in one package. This method is considered more practical for consumption, easy to obtain, and most importantly the content has been adjusted to your body's needs.
How to consume it is not difficult, you can drink it directly at dawn and break the fast, or mix it with water to serve as takjil when breaking the fast.
