Dates, which are the fruit of the date palm tree, are typically available in two varieties, medjool and deglet noor. According to the University of Arizona, date palms originated in Asia, but are now cultivated around the world. Dates may be sold in whole and fresh in your grocery store produce section, but they are more commonly found pitted and dried, sold with other dried fruits.
General Information
The deglet noor dates are somewhat smaller than medjool dates -- the average deglet noor date is around 7 g, pitted. An average medjool is around 24 g, pitted. One medjool contains around 66 calories, while a deglet noor date contains around 20. Since dates contain a pit in the middle that can produce another date palm if planted, they have to be pitted since the seed is inedible.
Carbohydrates
One deglet noor contains 5.33 g total of carbohydrate, with 0.6 g from fiber. 4.5 g come from naturally occurring sugars. In contrast, a medjool data offers around 17.99 g of carbohydrates, with 1.6 g of those from fiber. Like the deglet noors, the majority of carbohydrates come from natural sugars, at 15.95 g.
Fat and Cholesterol
According to the USDA Nutrient Database, both types of date are naturally low in fat and contain negligible amounts of cholesterol. A medjool date contains just 0.04 g of fat, while a deglet noor contains 0.03 g.
Minerals
Medjool dates are slightly higher in natural minerals that deglet noor dates. One medjool date has around 15 mg of calcium, 13 mg of magnesium, 14 mg of phosphorus, and 167 mg of potassium. One deglet noor date has 3 mg of calcium, 3 mg of magnesium, 4 mg of phosphorus, and 47 mg of potassium, so you have to eat more to get the same amount of nutrients as in the medjool dates. Both types have trace amounts of iron, zinc, copper and manganese.
Vitamins
Both medjool and deglet noor dates contain trace amounts of various vitamins. Deglet noor dates contain traces of the B-vitamins, choline, and vitamin K. Medjool dates contain trace amounts of the B vitamins, although they are slightly higher in folate at 4 mcg in one date. They also have some choline, vitamins A and K, and the antioxidant beta-carotene.
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