Low Carb Diabetic Approaches to Date Consumption

If you follow a low-carb approach for type 2 diabetes, the useful question about dates is a counting one: how much carbohydrate one date uses up, and what that means against a daily limit. This page works through the numbers from USDA laboratory data and the research definitions of a low-carb diet, then looks at what trials of dates in type 2 diabetes found.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you have diabetes, and especially if you take insulin or other diabetes medicine, talk to your doctor, diabetes nurse or dietitian before changing your diet.

An earlier version of this page described a University of California Davis feeding study of dates in women with gestational diabetes, and said dates contain glycerin that helps a diabetic diet. A PubMed search in October 2026 found no study of dates and gestational diabetes from Davis or California, and none linking glycerin in dates to diabetes, so those sections have been removed, along with the claims about cough syrup, carotene and candida.

What “low carb” means in the research

A 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis in the BMJ (Goldenberg and colleagues) used these definitions:

• a low carbohydrate diet: under 130 g of carbohydrate a day, or under 26% of a 2,000 kcal diet
• a very low carbohydrate diet: under 10% of calories from carbohydrate

Using the same arithmetic as that review (26% of 2,000 kcal = 130 g), 10% of 2,000 kcal comes to about 50 g of carbohydrate a day.

The review included 23 randomised trials with 1,357 adults with type 2 diabetes, each lasting at least 12 weeks. At six months, more people on low-carb diets reached remission defined as HbA1c below 6.5% (57% against 31% on control diets). When remission was defined as HbA1c below 6.5% without diabetes medication, the effects were smaller and not statistically significant. Remission with low-carb diets dropped markedly in studies that included people using insulin, and at 12 months the remission data were sparse. Weight loss, triglycerides and insulin sensitivity improved by a large, clinically important amount at six months, but those gains diminished by 12 months. The authors rated the evidence as moderate to low certainty.

The NHS adds a caution about diet changes in general: do not switch to a very strict low-calorie diet without talking to a health professional first, because it may not suit you if you take insulin or other diabetes medicine.

How many carbs are in one date

USDA FoodData Central gives 75.0 g of carbohydrate (by difference) per 100 g for both Medjool and Deglet Noor dates. The size of the date makes the difference.

• One pitted Medjool date is listed at 24 g. That is about 18 g of carbohydrate, of which about 16 g is sugars, and 1.6 g of fibre.
• One pitted Deglet Noor date is listed at 7.1 g. That is about 5.3 g of carbohydrate and 4.5 g of sugars.
• A 30 g portion, which the NHS counts as 1 of your 5 A Day, holds about 22.5 g of carbohydrate whichever of the two you choose.

Against the 130 g low-carb ceiling, one Medjool date takes about 14% of the day’s allowance and a 30 g portion about 17%. Against the roughly 50 g very-low-carb level, a 30 g portion uses nearly half. On a 130 g plan, then, a date is a countable item. On a very low-carb plan a single portion takes a large share of the day.

The sugars inside

The two varieties carry their sugar differently. Per 100 g, USDA lists Medjool at 33.7 g glucose, 32.0 g fructose and 0.53 g sucrose. Deglet Noor has 19.9 g glucose, 19.6 g fructose and 23.8 g sucrose. Total sugars are 66.5 g and 63.4 g. On a label, the NHS notes, fruit sugar still sits in the total sugars figure.

What trials of dates in type 2 diabetes found

A randomised trial in Bahrain (Butler and colleagues, 2022) gave 79 people with type 2 diabetes 60 g of dates a day, about 45 g of carbohydrate by the USDA figure above, or the same weight of raisins, for 12 weeks. Of the 61 who finished, neither group changed in HbA1c, fasting glucose, insulin resistance or lipids, and the groups did not differ from each other. The authors saw no improvement in blood sugar control, and no harmful effect on it.

A second randomised trial (Alalwan and colleagues, 2020) assigned 100 people with type 2 diabetes to three dates a day for 16 weeks or to avoiding dates. HbA1c did not change within or between the groups. Total cholesterol fell by 0.209 mmol/L in the date group.

For glycaemic index (GI), a study at United Arab Emirates University fed each of five varieties, as a portion holding 50 g of available carbohydrate, to 10 people with type 2 diabetes and 13 healthy volunteers. The GIs in the diabetes group (43.8 to 53.0) were very similar to the healthy group, and the authors describe them as low. A GI test compares the blood glucose response to a fixed amount of carbohydrate from a food with the response to the same amount of glucose. It does not change how many grams you have counted.

Dates and low blood sugar

The old version of this page said most people with diabetes are at risk of hypoglycaemia, and that dates are good for raising blood glucose. The NHS puts it differently. Low blood sugar usually affects people with diabetes who take insulin or some other diabetes medicines, and it is rare in people without diabetes. Its self-treatment steps for a hypo, below 4mmol/L, are:

1. Eat or drink something that raises blood sugar quickly, such as a small glass of fruit juice or sugary fizzy drink, 5 glucose or dextrose tablets, 4 large jelly babies, or 2 tubes of glucose gel.
2. Check your blood sugar after 10 to 15 minutes.
3. If it is still below 4mmol/L, have another sugary drink or snack, and check again after 10 minutes.
4. Once symptoms have improved and blood sugar is above 4mmol/L, eat something that keeps it up for longer, such as some biscuits, a sandwich, or your next meal if it is due.

Dates are not on that quick-acting list. The same page lists not eating enough carbohydrate among the things that make a hypo more likely for people with diabetes, so plan any low-carb change with your care team. If someone is unconscious or not responding normally, the NHS page has separate emergency steps.

Fitting a counted portion into meals

The NHS says a 30 g portion of dried fruit, such as dates, should be eaten at mealtimes, not as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth. Its sugar advice suggests choosing unsweetened cereal and adding fruit for sweetness, with sliced bananas, dried fruit and berries named as good options. If you eat dates this way, count the grams from the list above into that meal’s total.

For type 2 diabetes the NHS also advises a healthy diet including fruit, vegetables, wholegrain foods and pulses, and at least 2.5 hours of walking or other activity that leaves you out of breath across the week.

Date Fruit supplies dates to consumers, retailers and traders with delivery across the country; see the About us page. Questions or orders can go through the Contact us page.

References

1. Goldenberg JZ, et al. Efficacy and safety of low and very low carbohydrate diets for type 2 diabetes remission: systematic review and meta-analysis of published and unpublished randomized trial data. BMJ. 2021;372:m4743. PMID 33441384
2. 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
3. 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
4. Alkaabi JM, et al. Glycemic indices of five varieties of dates in healthy and diabetic subjects. Nutr J. 2011;10:59. PMID 21619670
5. USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, 2019). Dates, medjool, FDC 168191; Dates, deglet noor, FDC 171726
6. NHS. Treatment for type 2 diabetes
7. NHS. Low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia)
8. NHS. 5 A Day: what counts?
9. NHS. Sugar: the facts