Food is one of several things the NHS lists for lowering blood pressure. Its high blood pressure page says to have a healthy, balanced diet, exercise regularly (at least 150 minutes a week) and lose weight if you're overweight. It also says not to eat too much salt, drink too much alcohol or caffeine, or smoke. This article covers the food side: which foods the evidence points to, and where dates fit.
What the DASH trial tested
The DASH trial (Appel et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 1997) put whole diets to the test. It enrolled 459 adults. After three weeks on a control diet low in fruit, vegetables and dairy, they were randomly assigned for eight weeks to the control diet, a diet rich in fruit and vegetables, or a "combination" diet rich in fruit, vegetables and low-fat dairy with less saturated and total fat. Sodium intake and body weight were kept at constant levels.
The combination diet lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 5.5 and 3.0 mm Hg more than the control diet. The fruit-and-vegetables diet lowered systolic pressure by 2.8 mm Hg more; its 1.1 mm Hg diastolic difference was not statistically significant (P=0.07). Among the 133 people with hypertension, the combination diet's extra drop was 11.4 mm Hg systolic and 5.5 mm Hg diastolic.
Where potassium, magnesium and fibre come from
The WHO says evidence shows that increasing potassium intake significantly reduces blood pressure in adults, and suggests at least 3,510 mg a day for adults. It names beans and peas, nuts, vegetables such as spinach, cabbage and parsley, and fruits such as bananas, papayas and dates as sources. It adds that food processing reduces the potassium in many food products.
The NHS vitamins and minerals page lists bananas, some vegetables such as broccoli, parsnips and Brussels sprouts, beans and pulses, nuts and seeds, fish, beef, chicken and turkey as good sources of potassium. For magnesium it names spinach, nuts and wholemeal bread. That page describes magnesium as helping turn food into energy; it does not link magnesium to blood pressure.
For fibre, the NHS fibre page says adults should increase their intake to 30g a day, while most adults eat an average of about 20g. A food with 6g or more of fibre per 100g counts as high-fibre. Juice is treated differently from whole fruit: the NHS eight tips for healthy eating say even unsweetened fruit juice and smoothies are high in free sugar, and should total no more than 150ml a day.
Where dates fit on that list
Dates are on the WHO's potassium list by name. Per 100g, USDA FoodData Central lists Deglet Noor dates at 282 kcal, 656mg potassium, 43mg magnesium, 8.0g fibre, 2mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol and 63.4g total sugars. Medjool dates come in at 277 kcal, 696mg potassium, 54mg magnesium, 6.7g fibre and 66.5g total sugars (FDC 168191). A 30g portion of Medjool works out at about 209mg potassium, against the WHO's 3,510mg daily figure.
That doesn't make dates medicine. In a randomised trial by Butler et al. (Nutrients, 2022), 79 patients with type 2 diabetes ate either 60g of dates or 60g of raisins a day for 12 weeks, and 61 completed the study. There was no difference between or within groups in systolic or diastolic blood pressure, or in blood lipids. The NHS counts a 30g portion of dried fruit, including dates, as 1 of your 5 A Day, to be eaten at mealtimes rather than as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth (NHS 5 A Day).
For finding sellers, two other Malaysian kurma sites are Kedai Kurma Malaysia and Dates fruit. Questions about Date Fruit Exporter's own dates go through About Us or Contact Us on WhatsApp.
Foods named by these sources
- Bananas, papayas and dates: fruits on the WHO potassium list.
- Beans and nuts: potassium sources for both the WHO and the NHS, with peas also on the WHO list and pulses and seeds on the NHS list.
- Spinach, cabbage, parsley, broccoli, parsnips and Brussels sprouts: vegetables named for potassium by the WHO or the NHS, with spinach also on the NHS magnesium list.
- Fish, beef, chicken and turkey: NHS potassium sources.
- Wholemeal bread: NHS magnesium source.
- Low-fat dairy foods: part of the DASH combination diet, alongside fruit and vegetables.
This is general information, not medical advice, and it doesn't replace a doctor's advice on blood pressure or heart health. Anyone managing blood pressure should follow their own clinician's guidance rather than a food list.
References
- NHS. High blood pressure. nhs.uk/conditions/high-blood-pressure
- Appel LJ, et al. A clinical trial of the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure. N Engl J Med. 1997;336(16):1117-24. PMID 9099655
- WHO eLENA. Increasing potassium intake to reduce blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular diseases in adults. who.int
- NHS. Vitamins and minerals: others. nhs.uk
- NHS. How to get more fibre into your diet. nhs.uk
- NHS. Eight tips for healthy eating. nhs.uk
- USDA FoodData Central. Dates, deglet noor (SR Legacy, FDC ID 171726) and Dates, medjool (SR Legacy, FDC ID 168191). fdc.nal.usda.gov
- 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
- NHS. 5 A Day: what counts? nhs.uk