Dates provide your body with fibre, potassium and copper, along with magnesium, manganese and vitamin B6. The figures below come from USDA FoodData Central and are given per 100 grams of fruit for two varieties sold in Malaysia, Medjool and Deglet Noor.
Nutrients in dates per 100 g
| Nutrient | Medjool | Deglet Noor |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 277 kcal | 282 kcal |
| Total sugars | 66.5 g | 63.4 g |
| Fibre | 6.7 g | 8.0 g |
| Potassium | 696 mg | 656 mg |
| Magnesium | 54 mg | 43 mg |
| Copper | 0.362 mg | 0.206 mg |
| Manganese | 0.296 mg | 0.262 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.249 mg | 0.165 mg |
Sources: FDC 168191, Dates, medjool and FDC 171726, Dates, deglet noor.
Be careful with the sugar
Dates contain a lot of sugar, about 66.5 grams of sugar per 100 grams of Medjool dates. One pitted Medjool date weighs about 24 g in the same USDA record, so a few dates add up quickly.
The sugar in whole dates is treated differently from added sugar, though. Under NHS guidance, sugar in fruit is not considered free sugars unless the fruit is juiced or puréed. Free sugars are the kind adults should keep to no more than 30g a day, and they include sugars found naturally in honey and syrups. Blended date paste and date syrup therefore count towards that limit, while whole dates count as fruit.
For whole dates the NHS advice is about portions and timing. A 30g portion of dried fruit, such as dates, counts as 1 of your 5 A Day, but it should be eaten at mealtimes, not as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth.
Benefits of eating dates: what the evidence says
Each claim below is matched to a published source and says so when the evidence is about a nutrient in general rather than dates themselves.
Digestion and constipation
According to the NHS, choosing foods with fibre can also help with your digestion and prevent constipation. One small trial tested dates directly. In a randomised, controlled, cross-over study of 22 healthy volunteers, eating seven dates a day (about 50 g) for 21 days significantly increased bowel movements and stool frequency compared with baseline, and lowered stool ammonia. Date intake did not significantly change the growth of the selected gut bacteria. It did reduce the genotoxicity of faecal water compared with the control, and the authors suggest dates may reduce colon cancer risk. That conclusion rests on a laboratory marker in a small study, not on cancer cases.
Heart health
The NHS says that eating plenty of fibre is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer. This is an association with fibre from the whole diet. It was not tested with dates on their own.
Blood pressure
The WHO notes that high intake of sodium (salt) is associated with increased blood pressure, and that potassium can mitigate the negative effects of elevated sodium consumption on blood pressure. Dates contain potassium, 696 mg per 100 g of Medjool in the table above. None of the sources here tested dates on blood pressure.
Magnesium and stroke risk
A 2012 meta-analysis of seven prospective studies, with 241,378 participants and 6,477 cases of stroke, found that every extra 100 mg of magnesium a day was associated with an 8% lower risk of total stroke and a 9% lower risk of ischaemic stroke. This was magnesium from the whole diet, measured in observational studies. For scale, 100 g of Medjool dates provides 54 mg of magnesium.
Dates in late pregnancy
In a prospective study in Jordan, 69 women ate six dates a day for the 4 weeks before their estimated delivery date and were compared with 45 women who ate none. The women who ate dates had greater cervical dilatation on admission (3.52 cm vs 2.02 cm), went into labour spontaneously more often (96% vs 79%) and needed prostin or oxytocin less often (28% vs 47%). The delivery outcome was more favourable but the difference was not significant, and the authors said a randomised controlled trial was needed.
A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis of 48 studies found that eating dates in late pregnancy shortened labour and reduced the need for induction. The same review rated the overall evidence quality as unacceptable, with a high risk of bias in most studies, and called for better-designed research.
Speak to your doctor or midwife before changing your diet during pregnancy.
Buying and storing dates
Bulk buyers can order through Kurma Wholesaler Online. To keep dates in good condition at home, read these tips for properly storing dates, and see Jenis2 Kurma: Making Informed Choices for help choosing between varieties.
This article is general information, not medical advice.
References
- USDA FoodData Central. Dates, medjool (FDC ID 168191). fdc.nal.usda.gov
- USDA FoodData Central. Dates, deglet noor (FDC ID 171726). fdc.nal.usda.gov
- NHS. Sugar: the facts. nhs.uk
- NHS. 5 A Day: what counts? nhs.uk
- NHS. How to get more fibre into your diet. nhs.uk
- World Health Organization. Healthy diet (fact sheet). who.int
- Eid N, et al. Impact of palm date consumption on microbiota growth and large intestinal health: a randomised, controlled, cross-over, human intervention study. Br J Nutr. 2015;114(8):1226-36. PMID 26428278. PubMed
- Larsson SC, Orsini N, Wolk A. Dietary magnesium intake and risk of stroke: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012;95(2):362-6. PMID 22205313. PubMed
- Al-Kuran O, et al. The effect of late pregnancy consumption of date fruit on labour and delivery. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2011;31(1):29-31. PMID 21280989. PubMed
- Salajegheh Z, et al. Is oral consumption of dates in the peripartum period effective and safe integrative care to facilitate childbirth and improve perinatal outcomes: a comprehensive revised systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2024;24(1):12. PMID 38166785. PubMed