Dates

What it does

Dense minerals and fibre in a small package; better than refined sugar as a sweetener.

• Iron, fibre, natural energy

Where the number comes from

Dates sits in the fruit group of the Fadnes model, the only peer-reviewed model that converts eating into years of life. The lifetime gain for that group is spread across the days you actually eat it — a daily serving from age 20 to 80 — which gives +10 min per serving. The authors rate the evidence behind this group as low.

What it is made of

• Iron
• Fibre
• Polyphenols

How to eat it

Two or three — it is still sugar-dense.

Minutes derived from Fadnes LT, Økland J-M, Haaland ØA, Johansson KA. Estimating impact of food choices on life expectancy: A modeling study. PLOS Medicine 19(2):e1003889, 2022. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003889