Much of what is written about the role of dates on blood pressure comes down to one nutrient: potassium. USDA FoodData Central lists 696 mg of potassium and 1 mg of sodium in 100 g of Medjool dates, and 656 mg of potassium and 2 mg of sodium in 100 g of Deglet Noor dates. One pitted Medjool date is listed at 24 g. Four of them, about 96 g, come to roughly 670 mg of potassium and about 1 mg of sodium.
Potassium does matter. A 2013 systematic review and meta-analysis in the BMJ pooled 22 randomised controlled trials with 1606 participants. Increased potassium intake lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.49 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 1.96 mm Hg in adults, an effect seen in people with hypertension but not in those without it (Aburto et al., 2013). The authors limited their conclusion to people without impaired renal handling of potassium, so anyone with kidney disease should talk to their doctor before adding potassium-rich foods.
Dates bought from a supplier such as Pembekal Kurma Selangor carry that potassium. They are still one fruit, not a treatment.
What a trial of dates actually found
The potassium research above is about potassium intake in general, not about dates. When dates themselves were tested, the result was flat. A randomised trial gave 79 patients with type 2 diabetes either 60 g of dates or 60 g of raisins every day for 12 weeks, and 61 of them completed it. There was no difference between or within the groups in systolic or diastolic blood pressure, blood lipids or HbA1c, and the authors saw no beneficial effects of dates on other cardiovascular indices (Butler et al., 2022). Neither fruit worsened blood sugar control over the 12 weeks.
So the honest answer to "can dates lower blood pressure?" is that the one trial cited here, in people with type 2 diabetes, found no change. Dates can fit into a diet built around the things that do have evidence behind them.
WHO's hypertension fact sheet names the modifiable risk factors: unhealthy diets (excessive salt, a diet high in saturated fat and trans fats, low intake of fruits and vegetables), physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol use, and being overweight or obese. The sections below take those one at a time.
Weight
WHO lists being overweight or obese among the things that raise the risk of high blood pressure, and losing weight among the lifestyle changes that help lower it. USDA lists 277 kcal in 100 g of Medjool dates, so portions count when weight is the goal.
Cholesterol
USDA FoodData Central lists 0 mg of cholesterol in 100 g of Deglet Noor dates. That means Deglet Noor dates add no cholesterol to your diet. It does not mean they lower it, and the 12-week trial above found no change in blood lipids.
Smoking
WHO lists tobacco use as a modifiable risk factor for high blood pressure and quitting tobacco as one of the changes that help lower it. Eating dates is not a substitute for stopping.
Salt and sodium
This is where dates fit most naturally. WHO's sodium reduction fact sheet says the primary health effect of diets high in sodium is raised blood pressure, and recommends that adults eat less than 2000 mg of sodium a day, equivalent to less than 5 g of salt. With 1 to 2 mg of sodium per 100 g, Medjool and Deglet Noor dates are a low-sodium choice when they replace a salty snack.
Fat and fibre
USDA lists 0.15 g of total fat and 0.0 g of trans fat in 100 g of Medjool dates, and 0.0 g of trans fat in Deglet Noor dates. WHO counts a diet high in saturated and trans fats among the risk factors, so neither variety adds the trans fat it warns against. They also bring fibre: 6.7 g per 100 g for Medjool and 8.0 g per 100 g for Deglet Noor.
Buying dates
Date Fruit Exporter supplies dates for retail and wholesale buyers, with delivery across Malaysia; the About Us page has the details. For a quote, the Contact Us page lists the WhatsApp number.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have high blood pressure, follow the plan agreed with your doctor.
References
- Aburto NJ, Hanson S, Gutierrez H, Hooper L, Elliott P, Cappuccio FP. Effect of increased potassium intake on cardiovascular risk factors and disease: systematic review and meta-analyses. BMJ. 2013. doi:10.1136/bmj.f1378. PubMed 23558164
- 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. PubMed 36079749
- USDA FoodData Central. Dates, medjool (FDC ID 168191). fdc.nal.usda.gov
- USDA FoodData Central. Dates, deglet noor (FDC ID 171726). fdc.nal.usda.gov
- World Health Organization. Hypertension (fact sheet). who.int
- World Health Organization. Sodium reduction (fact sheet). who.int