Are Dates Truly Beneficial for Health?

Centuries ago, the Middle East and North Africa valued dates as a popular food for their nutritional value and sweet taste.

Scientists have recently analyzed dates thoroughly and discovered many biologically active compounds that can be beneficial for health. However, clinical studies have not yet confirmed significant healing effects of these fruits.

Let’s determine if it is worthwhile to include dates in your diet, what benefits they offer, and the potential harm they may cause.

What are dates?

7500 years ago, humans learned to cultivate the date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, a woody plant of the Palm family that produces dates. Nowadays, date palms grow not only in the Middle East and Africa but also in many tropical regions worldwide, including South and Central America, Australia, India, and the southern states of the United States.

Dates have five stages of development, traditionally known in Arabic as:

• Hababauk: immature fruits that weigh approximately one gram and are four to five weeks old from the moment of seed fertilization.
• Kimri: small, hard, and green fruits with an elongated shape that contain around 80% water and 50% sugar. This stage occurs 9-14 weeks after development begins.
• Kalal or Halal: fruits in this stage change from green to greenish-yellow, yellow, pink, or red, depending on the variety. The seed can sprout, making the fruit physiologically mature, but these dates are still bitter to taste. However, the amount of sugar increases rapidly, and the percentage of water decreases.
• Rutab: during this two to four-week phase, dates lose their bitter taste, and their color turns brown or black. The amount of water in the fruit also decreases.
• Tamr: this final stage lasts approximately a month, during which the fruit dries up, and there is barely any water left in it. Essentially, the fruit of the palm becomes a dried fruit right on the branch, making them fully mature dates.

Only Rutab and Tamr stage dates hold commercial value. Tamr dates are mainly exported because fruits of this degree of ripeness store the best.

What Makes Dates a Potential Source of Health Benefits?

Dates are high in carbohydrates and have a sweet taste. Up to 80% of the dry weight of a ripe date consists of various sugars, such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose. Additionally, dates are rich in dietary fiber, making up 6.4-11.5% of the dry weight, depending on the variety and degree of ripeness.

Protein accounts for approximately 3% of a ripe date’s weight, and studies of the amino acid sequence of date protein have revealed the presence of 23 different amino acids, some of which are uncommon in other fruits.

Dates are also a source of vitamins A, C, B group, as well as minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, sodium, phosphorus, zinc, selenium, fluorine, potassium, and iron. They contain antioxidants such as carotenoids, phenolic acids, and isoflavones.

The chemical composition of dates undergoes significant changes during the ripening process. As the fruit ripens, the amount of sugars increases, while the concentration of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants gradually decreases.

The composition of dates is also influenced by factors such as the variety of the palm tree, growing conditions, harvest time, and storage method.

The medicinal properties of dates are primarily attributed to their fiber and antioxidant content. Laboratory experiments and animal studies suggest that date extracts can help lower cholesterol, fight diabetes, improve intestinal health, and protect against cancer.

However, the effectiveness of dates in clinical trials remains inconclusive. Additionally, the significant changes in the fruit’s composition during ripening further complicate the situation. Dates that are consumed as food tend to have high sugar content and low antioxidant levels. In contrast, green and bitter dates have more antioxidants and less sugar.

Can Certain Properties of Dates Really Offer Benefits?

The high nutritional value of dates, primarily due to their carbohydrate content, is often overlooked in laboratory experiments, but clinical studies have confirmed their positive properties, particularly in pregnancy-related settings.

Studies with small sample sizes ranging from 11 to 50 people have demonstrated the effectiveness of dates in treating mild iron-deficiency anemia in pregnant women.

Dates have also been found to be an effective “energy booster” during childbirth, as the sugar and minerals are rapidly absorbed and provide the necessary energy levels.

Additionally, consuming dates in the last weeks of pregnancy has been shown in some limited research to reduce the duration of the active phase of labor, although the exact mechanism for this effect remains uncertain. Scientists suggest that the bioactive substances present in mature dates interact with the receptors of the uterus, causing its contraction.

However, the studies conducted on the positive effect of dates on childbirth were all of low or medium quality, making it impossible to reliably confirm the findings. It can only be assumed that dates have a positive effect.

Laboratory studies have uncovered several beneficial properties of dates, but they currently lack clinical confirmation. Few experiments have been conducted involving volunteers, and the data obtained from them is not statistically significant in confirming the therapeutic effects of dates.

For instance, a small clinical study was conducted on the effect of date fruits on the gastrointestinal tract, where healthy volunteers were given seven dates per day for 21 days. The study found that consuming dates did not affect the composition of the intestinal microflora but increased the frequency of defecation and reduced the concentration of toxic substances in the stool.

Studies conducted on test tubes and animals have shown that dates can lower the level of lipids harmful to the heart and blood vessels and slow down the activity of an enzyme that plays a vital role in raising blood pressure.

Date antioxidants have been shown in laboratory experiments to neutralize free radicals that contribute to the development of cardiovascular diseases. However, there is no conclusive evidence that dates have the same effect on humans.

Only two clinical trials involving volunteers have been conducted by scientists. In the first trial, participants who regularly consumed 100 grams of dates per day experienced a small decrease in the level of lipids harmful to health in their blood. However, the study was conducted on a small sample size, and the results are currently insufficient to confirm the therapeutic effect of dates.

Is it Safe to Consume Dates if You Have Diabetes?

Bioactive compounds found in dates have been found to be beneficial in preventing and treating diabetes. Animal studies have demonstrated that extracts from the fruit can lower blood glucose levels and prevent the development of diabetes-related complications. However, these effects have not been confirmed in humans.

It is important to note that dates are high in sugars, which raises questions about whether the beneficial bioactive compounds in the fruit can outweigh the harmful effects of sugar on individuals with diabetes.

Several clinical studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of dates. The results suggest that moderate consumption of one to three fruits per day can lead to a slight reduction in fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels. However, there are few studies of this nature, and the data obtained are not consistent enough to recommend the fruit as a hypoglycemic agent.

Individuals with diabetes are advised not to consume more than three dates a day, as the fruit has a relatively high glycemic index and glycemic load.

The amount of carbohydrates in dates is dependent on several factors such as the variety, ripeness, and growing conditions. A study conducted by scientists from Saudi Arabia evaluated the glycemic index and glycemic load of 17 popular date varieties.

The study revealed that the average glycemic index of dates is 55, which falls under the category of foods with a low glycemic index. However, some varieties have a glycemic index that can go as high as 74, which is already considered high.

To calculate the glycemic load, three ripe dates were used, which is considered a “standard serving” in Saudi Arabia. The average glycemic load of three dates is 14, and for some varieties, it can go as high as 24. This means that the glycemic load can be either average or high.

Individuals with diabetes are recommended to limit their daily intake of dates to three fruits, as this amount has been shown to have a positive effect on blood glucose levels without causing harm.

It is also important for healthy individuals to keep in mind that consuming foods with a high glycemic load can increase the risk of developing serious diseases such as cardiovascular diseases.

Although dates have several health benefits, they are high in sugar and calories, with approximately 280 kcal per 100 grams. Frequent consumption can lead to a high glycemic load and increased calorie intake, which can be detrimental to overall health and lead to weight gain.

Clinical trials have limited the consumption of dates to three to four fruits per day, with a maximum of seven fruits per day. Based on these findings, it is not recommended to consume large amounts of dates.