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Kurma Murah
Kurma Murah
October 25, 2025

Are Dates Safe for Diabetics?

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Why people with diabetes ask about dates

Dates, the fruit of the date palm, are eaten fresh, dried, or blended into drinks and desserts, and in Malaysia they are on almost every table during Ramadan and Hari Raya.

This article looks at Dates and Diabetes: what is in a date, what the blood sugar studies found, and how big a portion is in real numbers.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have diabetes or prediabetes, check with your doctor or dietitian before changing what you eat, especially if you take insulin or other diabetes medicine.

What is in a date

Dates are mostly sugar, with some fibre and minerals. The sugar is a mix of glucose, fructose and sucrose.

100 grams of Medjool dates contain (USDA):

  • 277 kcal

  • 75g carbohydrate

  • 66.5g sugar

  • 6.7g fibre

  • 1.8g protein

  • 696mg potassium

  • 54mg magnesium

  • 0.9mg iron

Deglet Noor dates are similar per 100 g: 282 kcal, 63.4 g sugar and 8 g fibre. Size makes the bigger difference. USDA lists one Medjool at about 24 g and one Deglet Noor at about 7 g, so one Medjool has roughly 16 g of sugar and one Deglet Noor about 4.5 g.

Dates and diabetes: the basics

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the pancreas does not make enough insulin or the body cannot use it properly. Insulin is the hormone that regulates blood glucose, and raised blood sugar over time damages the nerves and blood vessels (WHO).

The NHS advice for type 2 diabetes is a healthy diet that includes fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and pulses. Dates are fruit, but they are also a concentrated source of sugar, so the question is how many, not whether.

Portion size is what you can control. Count dates as part of your carbohydrate for that meal, and eat them with a meal rather than as a stand-alone snack.

The glycaemic index of dates

The Glycemic Index (GI) measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar after consumption. Foods are ranked on a scale from 0 to 100:

  • Low GI: 55 or below

  • Medium GI: 56–69

  • High GI: 70 or above

In a 2011 study from the UAE, five varieties (Fara'd, Lulu, Bo ma'an, Dabbas and Khalas) had GIs of 46 to 55 in 13 healthy adults and 44 to 53 in 10 adults with well-controlled type 2 diabetes. All five were low GI (Alkaabi 2011).

Not every date is low GI. A 2023 review found GI values ranging from 42.8 to 74.6 across different varieties, which runs from low to high (Meenakshi and Misra 2023). We did not find published GI figures for Ajwa, Medjool or Deglet Noor in the sources we checked, so treat any exact number for those varieties with caution.

GI also does not tell you how much sugar you eat. Five Medjool dates are about 80 g of sugar whatever their GI.

Fibre: what it does and does not do

Dates have 6.7 to 8 g of fibre per 100 g (USDA). Fibre from fruit and vegetables helps digestion. The site's sugar vs fibre in dates article covers the numbers in more detail.

Some articles say date fibre stops blood sugar spikes. The low GI results above are the actual evidence on blood sugar. They do not show which part of the date is responsible.

Portion size: how many dates can a diabetic eat?

With diabetes, the biggest factor is portion size. Even low-GI dates raise blood sugar if you eat enough of them.

The best trial so far gave adults with type 2 diabetes three dates a day for 16 weeks (Alalwan 2020). There is no official date limit for diabetics. Use the USDA figures to see what a portion means:

  • one Medjool (24 g): about 66 kcal, 16 g sugar, 1.6 g fibre

  • one Deglet Noor (7 g): about 20 kcal, 4.5 g sugar, 0.6 g fibre

  • 30 g of dried fruit counts as one of your 5 A Day, and the NHS advises eating dried fruit at mealtimes, not between meals, to protect your teeth

If your blood sugar is well controlled, one or two dates with a meal is a reasonable place to start. Check your glucose afterwards if you monitor at home, and adjust from there.

When to eat them:

  • with a meal that has protein and some fat, such as nuts or yoghurt

  • instead of a dessert or sweet, not on top of one

  • around exercise, if your diabetes team has told you to take carbohydrate then

Which dates to choose

Varieties differ in size, texture and sweetness. For blood sugar, size matters more than variety.

Semi-dry and soft varieties

  • Deglet Noor: semi-dry and firmer, and small, at about 7 g a date.

  • Ajwa: dark and soft, grown around Madinah. We found no GI study for Ajwa.

  • Sukkari: soft and sweet. We found no GI study for Sukkari either.

The large, sweet ones

  • Medjool: large, soft and very sweet, at about 24 g and 66 kcal a date.

  • Mabroom: long and chewy. Count them by weight like any other date.

Whatever the variety, weigh a few once so you know what your usual portion contains.


storing dates

What dates contain that matters for diabetics

These are the parts of the date with some evidence behind them. None of them makes dates a treatment for diabetes.

1. Polyphenols

Dates contain polyphenol antioxidants. In the 16-week trial, people with type 2 diabetes who ate three dates a day had a small fall in total cholesterol (−0.21 mmol/L) compared with those who ate none (Alalwan 2020). It was one trial of 100 people.

2. Fibre

The fibre helps digestion (NHS counts dried fruit toward your 5 A Day). Claims that date fibre improves insulin sensitivity have not been tested in people with diabetes.

3. Potassium and magnesium

Potassium helps control the balance of fluids in the body and helps the heart muscle work properly, and adults need 3,500 mg a day (NHS). 100 g of Medjool has 696 mg. Diabetes can lead to kidney failure (WHO), so if you have kidney disease, ask your doctor about potassium before eating dates regularly.

4. Energy

Dates are a compact source of carbohydrate, 75 g per 100 g (USDA). That is a reason to count them carefully. We found no study showing that dates give people with diabetes steadier energy than other carbohydrate foods.

5. Smaller amounts of other nutrients

Per 100 g of Medjool, USDA lists 0.25 mg of vitamin B6 and 0.44 mg of zinc. These are small amounts and do not change the main point: dates are a sugar-rich fruit.

How dates affect blood sugar levels

A few studies have measured blood glucose after people with diabetes ate dates.

The 2011 UAE study gave 10 adults with type 2 diabetes a portion of dates containing 50 g of available carbohydrate and compared it with 50 g of glucose. The dates did not cause significant post-meal glucose rises (Alkaabi 2011). The participants were controlled on lifestyle or metformin, with an average HbA1c of 6.6%.

In the 2020 randomised trial, HbA1c did not change after 16 weeks of three dates a day, either within or between groups (Alalwan 2020).

Count dates as part of your carbohydrate for the day. Eat them in place of another sweet, not on top of one.

Fitting dates into a diabetic diet

A few practical habits:

Combine with protein

Eat dates with nuts, cheese or plain yoghurt as part of a meal, rather than on their own between meals.

Use whole dates, not syrup or purée

Chopped whole dates in porridge or yoghurt are fine. Blending or puréeing them releases the sugar, and the NHS counts sugars in puréed fruit and smoothies as free sugars. Adults should have no more than 30 g of free sugars a day, and smoothies are best kept to 150 ml.

Portion out in advance

Put two dates on a plate and close the box. It is easier than counting from the packet.

When to be careful

Take extra care in these situations:

  • If your diabetes is not well controlled or your HbA1c is high, talk to your diabetes team before adding dates. The NHS checks HbA1c every 3 to 6 months.

  • If you have prediabetes or insulin resistance, count dates as sugar and keep portions small.

  • If you are trying to lose weight, remember a single Medjool is about 66 kcal (USDA).

Comparing dates to other sweeteners

Here is how dates compare with common sweeteners per 100 g (USDA: white sugar, honey, maple syrup, Medjool dates):

Sweetener Calories per 100g Fiber Total sugars Counts as free sugar (NHS)
White Sugar 387 0g 99.8g Yes
Honey 304 0.2g 82.1g Yes
Maple Syrup 260 0g 60.5g Yes
Dates (Medjool) 277 6.7g 66.5g No when eaten whole; yes when blended or puréed

Dates bring fibre and potassium that sugar, honey and syrup do not. They still carry about 66 g of sugar per 100 g, so swapping table sugar for date paste does not make a dessert low-sugar. The NHS counts honey and syrups as free sugars, and fruit purées too.

What the research says about moderate date eating

The research is encouraging but limited. A 2023 review concluded that eating dates "may not lead to impairment of glycemia" in people with type 2 diabetes, and also pointed out that the studies are small and short (Meenakshi and Misra 2023).

The 2011 GI study used a 50 g carbohydrate portion of dates, not a set number of dates a day (Alkaabi 2011). The 2020 trial used three dates a day and found no change in HbA1c (Alalwan 2020). That supports small portions as part of a planned diet, not unlimited eating.

Tips for buying fresh, quality dates

Look for:

  • Plump, glossy dates. Avoid ones that are very dry or crystallised.

  • No sugar coating or syrup. Plain dates need none.

  • Airtight packaging, which keeps them fresh.

  • A supplier who stores the stock properly.

If you buy from a pembekal kurma malaysia (dates supplier), ask how the dates were stored and when they were packed.

Storing dates at home

To keep dates fresh:

  • Keep dates in airtight containers away from sunlight.

  • Store at room temperature if you will eat them soon.

  • They keep longer in the fridge.

  • Avoid moisture, which can cause mold or spoilage.

There is more on storage in this guide to storing dates.


ajwa dates

Myths about dates and diabetes

Myth 1: diabetics should completely avoid dates

Not supported by the studies. Small portions did not worsen blood sugar in the trials so far (Meenakshi and Misra 2023), though those trials were small.

Myth 2: dates cause instant blood sugar spikes

The five varieties tested in the UAE study were low GI and did not cause significant post-meal rises in people with controlled type 2 diabetes (Alkaabi 2011). A large portion still raises blood sugar.

Myth 3: all dates have the same sugar level

Per 100 g they are fairly similar (63 to 67 g of sugar for Medjool and Deglet Noor). Per date they are not, because a Medjool is more than three times the weight of a Deglet Noor.

Date snack ideas for diabetics

  • Almond-stuffed dates: one date with a couple of almonds, eaten with a meal.

  • Oats with chopped dates: one chopped date in plain porridge instead of sugar.

  • Date and nut bars: blend oats, nuts and 2 to 3 dates, then cut into small pieces and count each one as part of your carbohydrate.

  • Yoghurt with dates: plain low-fat yoghurt with one chopped date and some chia seeds.

Keep the date to one per serving and you will know what you are eating.

The short answer

For most people with diabetes, the question is portion, not avoidance. Tested varieties had a low GI (Alkaabi 2011), and three dates a day did not change HbA1c over 16 weeks (Alalwan 2020). Not every variety is low GI, and the studies are small.

Start with one or two dates with a meal, check your glucose, and talk to your doctor or dietitian if your diabetes is not well controlled.

References

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