Dates have rocketed to health food stardom in recent weeks. Some people even claim that eating just two dates a day can help manage your blood sugar, aid digestion, and lower cholesterol.
Not convinced? Scroll any social media app, and you’ll see dozens of healthy date recipes, like the viral butter-filled date and peanut butter and chocolate chip dates that people swear taste like a Snickers bar.
But is the simple date really a delicious and nutritious powerhouse? Dietitians explain.
Are Dates Good for You?
Dates are pretty healthy for you with high levels of key micronutrients, said Heidi Silver, PhD, RD, the director of the Vanderbilt Diet, Body Composition, and Human Metabolism Core.
“Dates provide a good source of fiber, calcium, magnesium, potassium, niacin, folate, vitamin A, beta carotene, and lutein, selenium,” Silver told Verywell. Just be mindful of how many dates you eat. “Eating too many can contribute to excess calorie intake.”
The average portion size of dates is just 100 grams, or the equivalent of about four Medjool dates. So you shouldn’t eat a whole package of dates to get the health benefits, she added.
Four Medjool dates might contain around 277 calories and 66 grams of sugar. In comparison, a 12 oz can of Coca-Cola has 39 grams of sugar and 140 calories, Julia Zumpano, RD, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic Center for Human Nutrition, told Verywell.
“Since dates really pack in the sugar, be mindful to avoid or limit additional sources of sugar,” said Zumpano. “I typically suggest a more modest dose of two large or three small dates, which is about 50 grams and provides half the sugar and calories.”
While two dates a day is a perfectly fine portion size, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be instantly healthier.
Can Dates Lower Cholesterol?
Some research has found evidence that eating dates may also help lower your cholesterol and triglyceride levels. But Silver said the evidence is still inconclusive.
“A recent meta-analysis also showed no significant effect on LDL cholesterol [the ‘bad’ cholesterol] but a reduction in total cholesterol in persons with type 2 diabetes,” Silver said.
Can Dates Help Regulate Blood Sugar?
Pitted dates generally won’t have added sugars in them, but they still can contain a significant amount of natural sugars in the form of sucrose, glucose, or fructose.
That high sugar level may give you pause about eating dates as a healthy snack, but a key difference between dates and sugary sodas or other processed foods is that they contain high levels of fiber, Zumpano said.
“Due to the fiber, which slows the absorption of glucose in the bloodstream, they also have a low glycemic index, which causes a smaller spike in blood sugar values,” Zumpano explained.
Zumpano said using dates as a sweetener can also be a healthier alternative to refined sugar. “Portion control is key here. I like to use dates as an alternative to something sweet; you can also use them in recipes to replace sugar.”
Can Dates Support Your Gut Health?
Since dates are high in fiber, they can help your gastrointestinal tract, said Zumpano, but they should still be just one part of a balanced, healthy diet.
“All fiber helps gut health,” Zumpano said. “ But they need to be eaten in combination with other fiber-rich foods, specifically lower sugar sources of fiber such as leafy greens, non-starchy vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.”
According to Silver, adding these snacks to your diet can also benefit your microbiome, the naturally occurring microbial cells present in your GI tract.
“Dates and other fruits can improve the ratio of beneficial gut microbiota—but again, the studies are limited,” Silver said.
Be aware that eating too many dates could also cause a bathroom emergency. “As with any fruit, eating too many could promote diarrhea, but eating a few each day can help with constipation,” Silver said.
What If You Don’t Like Dates?
If eating dates on a daily basis is unappealing, there’s no reason you can’t pivot to other dried or fresh fruits to see similar benefits.
“Alternatives are other dried fruits like prunes and figs and apricots—but fresh fruits are an even better choice as they are much lower in calories,” Silver said.
What This Means For You
If eating two dates a day makes you feel better, it’s perfectly fine to continue doing that. However, dates are still relatively high in sugar, so you’ll want to be mindful of other sugar intake throughout the day.