Dates Fruit and a Diabetic Diet: What the Studies Show
Dates are sweet, and that is why people with diabetes ask whether they belong in their diet at all. The short answer from the trials below is that small daily amounts did not harm blood sugar control, and they did not improve it either. Here is what was tested, and how many people took part.
How much sugar is in a date
Before the studies, it helps to know what these rare fruits contain. USDA FoodData Central lists 66.5 g of total sugars and 6.7 g of fibre in 100 g of Medjool dates, and 63.4 g of sugars with 8.0 g of fibre in 100 g of Deglet Noor dates. One pitted Medjool date is listed at 24 g, which works out to about 16 g of sugars per date.
The NHS says sugar found naturally in whole fruit does not count as free sugars, but it is still part of the total sugars figure on a food label.
Glycaemic index: what the tests found
In these studies the glycaemic index (GI) was worked out by comparing the rise in blood glucose after dates with the rise after glucose. A study from United Arab Emirates University tested five date varieties in 13 healthy volunteers and 10 people with type 2 diabetes. The GI values ranged from 46.3 to 55.1 in the healthy group, and were very similar in the people with diabetes. The authors classed all five as low GI and found that eating them did not cause significant glucose spikes after meals in the diabetic group.
A second test in Saudi Arabia gave 17 varieties of tamr-stage (fully ripe) dates to 19 healthy adults. The mean GI was 55.2, with a range from 42.8 to 74.6. Sukkary was among the lowest at 43.4, while Sellaj (74.6) and Maktoomi (71.0) were the highest. The glycaemic load (GL) ranged from 8.5 to 24 and differed significantly between varieties. So not every date behaves the same.
The trials in people with diabetes
In a trial by researchers in Bahrain, 79 patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly given either 60 g of dates or 60 g of raisins a day for 12 weeks, split into a mid-morning and a mid-afternoon snack. Sixty-one finished. There was no difference in HbA1c, fasting glucose, insulin resistance, lipids or blood pressure. The authors wrote that dates did not improve glycaemic control and had no harmful effect on it over the 12 weeks.
A second trial randomly assigned 100 people with type 2 diabetes to two groups. One group ate three dates a day for 16 weeks and the control group avoided dates. HbA1c did not change within or between the groups. Total cholesterol fell by 0.209 mmol/L in the date group. LDL cholesterol fell by 0.171 mmol/L, but its confidence interval crossed zero, so that result is uncertain.
A 2025 meta-analysis pooled four studies with 298 participants with type 2 diabetes. It found a fall in total cholesterol, with high heterogeneity, and no significant change in LDL, triglycerides or HDL. The authors asked for larger studies.
Neither trial found HbA1c falling. The doses were modest: 60 g a day in one trial, three dates a day in the other.
Where dates sit in a diabetic diet
For type 2 diabetes, the NHS advises a healthy diet including fruit, vegetables, wholegrain foods such as wholemeal bread and oats, and pulses such as chickpeas and lentils. It also says not to eat too much processed food with lots of salt and sugar, such as sweets and biscuits. And it warns against switching to a very strict, low-calorie diet without talking to a health professional first, because that may not suit people taking insulin or other diabetes medicine.
The NHS counts a 30g portion of dried fruit, including dates, as one of your 5 A Day. It says dried fruit should be eaten at mealtimes rather than as a between-meal snack, to reduce the impact on teeth. Thirty grams of Medjool holds about 20 g of sugars and 83 kcal on the USDA figures, which is worth knowing before eating dates with a meal.
The World Health Organization lists a healthy diet, regular physical activity, a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco as ways to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. Dates can be part of that diet. The trials above do not show them changing blood sugar on their own.
Date Fruits supplies dates for retail and wholesale buyers, with delivery across Malaysia. The About Us page says questions, quotes and orders go through WhatsApp, and the Contact Us page has a contact form.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have diabetes, follow the eating plan agreed with your doctor or diabetes nurse, especially if you take insulin or other diabetes medicine.
References
- USDA FoodData Central. Dates, medjool (SR Legacy, FDC ID 168191). fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/168191
- USDA FoodData Central. Dates, deglet noor (SR Legacy, FDC ID 171726). fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/171726
- Alkaabi JM, et al. Glycemic indices of five varieties of dates in healthy and diabetic subjects. Nutr J. 2011;10:59. PMID 21619670
- AlGeffari MA, et al. Glycemic indices, glycemic load and glycemic response for seventeen varieties of dates grown in Saudi Arabia. Ann Saudi Med. 2016;36(6):397-403. PMID 27920411
- Butler AE, et al. Effect of date fruit consumption on the glycemic control of patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized clinical trial. Nutrients. 2022;14(17):3491. PMID 36079749
- Alalwan TA, et al. Effects of daily low-dose date consumption on glycemic control, lipid profile, and quality of life in adults with pre- and type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial. Nutrients. 2020;12(1):217. PMID 31952131
- Mirghani HO, Alhowiti A. Dates fruit effects on dyslipidemia among patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials. Pak J Med Sci. 2025;41(1):331-337. PMID 39867809
- NHS. Treatment for type 2 diabetes. nhs.uk
- NHS. 5 A Day: what counts? nhs.uk
- NHS. Sugar: the facts. nhs.uk
- WHO. Diabetes fact sheet. who.int