This page used to tie Iranian dates to Jewish festivals, King Solomon, chemotherapy and a long list of medical uses. None of those claims came with a source, and we could not find one for them, so they are gone. What is left is what the nutrient data and public health guidance say, with a focus on dates taken as a drink, such as a date milkshake or smoothie.
Which dates come from Iran
Several date varieties sold in Malaysia are Iranian. Mazafati, sold as Rotab Mazafati Bam or kurma madu, comes from Bam in Kerman province. It is dark, very soft and high in moisture. It needs refrigeration, and because it is cold-stored it is sold year-round. Mariami is also from Iran, a dark, semi-dry, chewy date. Piarom comes from Hormozgan and is dark and semi-dry with a thin skin. Sayer, also traded as Stamaran, comes from Khuzestan and is amber-brown and semi-dry.
If you are looking for Iranian Rabbi dates to buy, that is a separate question from the health one this page covers.
What is in a date
USDA FoodData Central has no record for Mariami, Piarom or Sayer, and its only Mazafati entry is a single branded product label. The figures below are for Medjool and Deglet Noor, not for Iranian dates, so treat them as a rough guide only.
Per 100 g, USDA lists Medjool dates at 277 kcal, 75.0 g of carbohydrate, 66.5 g of sugars, 6.7 g of fibre and 696 mg of potassium, with 0.15 g of fat and 1.81 g of protein. Deglet Noor comes in at 282 kcal, 63.4 g of sugars, 8.0 g of fibre and 656 mg of potassium. One pitted Medjool date weighs 24 g in the same record.
The old text said the sugars in dates were fructose and lactose. The USDA record for Medjool lists glucose (33.7 g) and fructose (32.0 g), with very little sucrose (0.53 g). Deglet Noor has more sucrose, 23.8 g per 100 g, alongside 19.9 g of glucose and 19.6 g of fructose.
What blending does to the sugar
This is where drinking dates differs from eating them. The NHS says sugar in fruit is not considered free sugars unless the fruit is juiced or puréed. Smoothies and purées count as free sugars, and adults should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day.
Two pitted Medjool dates weigh 48 g, which works out at about 32 g of sugars from the USDA figure. Blend them into a milkshake and, by the NHS definition, that is already past the 30g adult limit before any other sweetener goes in. The same applies whether you blend whole dates or dates pieces.
Teeth are the other reason. The NHS says that when fruit is juiced or blended into a smoothie, the sugars are released and can damage teeth. Its advice is to limit fruit juice and smoothies to 150ml (a small glass) in total per day, and to drink it with meals.
Eating them whole
Whole dates count differently. On the NHS 5 A Day page, a 30g portion of dried fruit, such as currants, dates, sultanas and figs, 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.
The fibre stays with the fruit too. The NHS says high-fibre foods have 6g or more of fibre in every 100g, so both Medjool and Deglet Noor clear that bar. UK government guidelines say adults should aim for 30g of fibre a day, and the NHS notes most adults only eat an average of about 20g. See our high-fibre food section for more.
Potassium and blood pressure
The old text also linked dates to blood pressure. The WHO says that increasing potassium intake significantly reduces blood pressure in adults, names dates among fruits that contain potassium, and suggests at least 3510 mg a day for adults.
A trial of the fruit itself found no change, though. In a 2022 randomized study from researchers in Bahrain, 79 patients with type 2 diabetes ate 60 g of dates or 60 g of raisins daily for 12 weeks, and 61 completed it. There was no difference between or within groups for systolic or diastolic blood pressure, lipids or HbA1c. The authors noted that neither fruit had a harmful effect on glycaemic control.
So dates are one food source of potassium among many. That is as far as the evidence goes. Our healthy foods section has other options.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Speak to a doctor about any health concern.
References
- USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, 2019). Dates, medjool, FDC ID 168191. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, 2019). Dates, deglet noor, FDC ID 171726. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- USDA FoodData Central (Branded). Mazafati dates (Sadaf), FDC ID 1139274. 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
- WHO eLENA. Increasing potassium intake to reduce blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular diseases in adults. who.int
- Butler AE, Obaid J, Wasif P, 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. doi:10.3390/nu14173491. PubMed 36079749