Here’s what eating 3 dates a day can do to your liver, heart, and arteries

Dates are an often overlooked fruit in most Western cultures. We pay a lot of attention to healthy fruits like oranges, apples, and lemons, but dates are also some of the most valuable natural foods you’ll find as far as health benefits are concerned.

Indeed, natural-remedy advocates say dates can help many of your body functions run more smoothly. Below are a few examples of how regular consumption of dates might make your life just a tad sweeter:

Dates — and date seed extract — can help reduce liver fibrosis, which occurs when the liver heals improperly from dealing with toxins, causing excess collagen. Dates can help you shape a healthier organ that will recover better from everyday wear and tear.

Dates are excellent for your heart: they can help monitor your heart rate thanks to potassium, which is excellent at fighting off heart disease. Not only that, but dates can reduce LDL cholesterol — the harmful variety of the molecule.

Dates are also excellent at keeping atherosclerosis at bay. The disease is characterized by plaque forming in your arteries, which not only makes them thinner, but also poses the risk of said plaque breaking off and creating clots, which can often be deadly.

The high amounts of antioxidants and phenolic acids contained in dates can help reduce the clogging of arteries and the issues that stem from said clogging.