Honey, Agave, Stevia, Sugar, Etc.

[CHEF AJ]

I tried making my own drink with date sugar + water, since date sugar is really a whole food just cut really fine, but it doesn't really dissolve, so the drink is pretty chalky and unpleasant.

I am a vegan/raw pastry chef at a restaurant and you are right about date sugar not dissolving in liquids. Also, most date sugar is processed with flour so it's not gluten free and that's another reason it does not dissolve easily. You might want to try date syrup. It is made just from dates and looks like maple syrup but not as sweet. Some of the Whole Foods sell it under a company called John Mountain. I make my own but if you can't do that or find a Whole Foods who will order it for you, Middle Eastern Markets generally sell it. I like the date syrup from Lebanon best as the only ingredient is DATES. Some of the other countries put sugar in their date syrup.

Love & Kale,
Chef AJ

[Veg4life]

Dates are a dried fruit which makes them calorie dense and so not a food recommended in unlimited amounts or really at all for those with weight problems.

I am a bit confused by this. How are dates a dried fruit? A raisin is a dried grape, a prune is a dried plum, so a date is a dried what? I thought they came like that and are not dried like figs are.

Also, once ground up by a blender, a date is no longer a whole food. Blending, especially a food high in sugar, can break down the fibers so they are not as effective and could potentially lead to some negative effects on TG's, blood sugar and insulin levels, especially if the person was insulin resistant.

So are you saying that if you put a date in a green smoothie it now becomes a processed food? If someone is not overweight would you say that whole dates are the most favorable sweetener?

[JeffN]

I tried making my own drink with date sugar + water, since date sugar is really a whole food just cut really fine, but it doesn't really dissolve, so the drink is pretty chalky and unpleasant.

The issue is not whether it is "whole" or not, but the calorie density of the dates. This is why it is important to understand calorie density (see below).

I am a bit confused by this. How are dates a dried fruit?

My comment was based on their calorie density. Dates, are "like" a dried fruit in regard to their calorie density. The calorie density of dates is around 1300 calorie per pound, which is similar to most dried fruit, as opposed to fresh fruit, which is around 250 calories per pound.

So are you saying that if you put a date in a green smoothie it now becomes a processed food? If someone is not overweight would you say that whole dates are the most favorable sweetener?

Anything we do to a food, from picking it, to cutting it, to cooking it, etc, is a "process.". Not all processing is bad & some are beneficial. I would recommend you read the following threads where we discuss the issues of blending,

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... =22&t=7907

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... 22&t=10234

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... 22&t=14063

and also this one on sugars

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... =22&t=5666

In Health
Jeff

[JeffN]

Just so ya know, all the dates you will find in stores are dried!

Correct.

And, while I agree with you, and why I refer to them as a "dried" fruit, even fresh dates have a very low water content so they do not become much more concentrated upon ripening/drying.

Quoting..

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-date-fruit.htm

A full grown date palm, or Phoenix dactylifera can reach 82 feet (25 meters) in height, with a spreading crown of greenish leaves. The date fruit grows in heavy clusters suspended under the leaves, and they are yellow in the early ripening stage, or kimri, the Arabic word for unripe. Some consumers enjoy date fruit in the next stage, khalal, meaning full sized but crunchy, while others wait for dates to reach rutab, ripe and soft. When the date fruit is allowed to sun dry on the tree, it is considered to be in the final tamr stage of ripening.

In Health
Jeff