If there’s one thing that’s stressed on when it comes to eating, it has got to be to make sure to eat fruits and vegetables.

Not only are fruits and vegetables nutritious but they also have amazing health benefits. One fruit or fruits in particular are dates which have been revealed to help in the relief of not one but four pretty serious ailments.

According to research, dates can help relieve hypertension, cholesterol, strokes and heart attacks and here’s how they do just that.

Heart attacks and strokes

Eating dates at least once a day can help prevent atherosclerosis which is the main cause of heart attacks and strokes.

According to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, “eating 3.75 ounces of dates every day for four weeks will help decrease your triglyceride levels by 15 percent while also reducing the amount of oxidation of fats in your blood by as much as 33 percent”.

Atherosclerosis is the hardening of the arteries which is caused by high cholesterol.

Dates also contain potassium which helps to lower the risk of stroke.

Hypertension

A different study conducted by Harvard Medical School found that eating about half a pound of dates a week could help to reduce blood pressure.

“Rigorous trials show that eating strategies such as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, DASH variants like the OmniHeart diet, and Mediterranean-type diets reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension (high blood pressure) and those headed in that direction.”

Dates also have other health benefits such as preventing diarrhea, relieving  constipation and balancing body weight.