Are Dates, Figs and Raisins Too Sugary? What Trials Show, Including for Diabetes

The short answer: dried fruit is fruit with the water taken out, so the sugar and fibre are concentrated. A 30 g portion of dates, figs or raisins carries roughly 19 to 24 g of carbohydrate. The trials we found suggest that small portions are manageable for most people, but the studies are small and short, and some were industry funded. The practical rule is to count dried fruit as carbohydrate, keep to about 30 g, and have it instead of something sweet, not on top of it. If you have diabetes, your own doctor or dietitian's advice beats anything in a blog post, ours included.

The question matters in India. In the ICMR-INDIAB national survey of 113,043 adults, 11.4% had diabetes and another 15.3% had prediabetes. Plenty of readers are asking "can I eat dates?" for a reason. Here is what the research actually shows, including the places where it contradicts what you have probably read.

What is in 100 g

These are USDA FoodData Central values. The last row is our own arithmetic, and it is the one we find most useful.

Per gram of carbohydrate, figs bring nearly twice the fibre of dates and almost four times that of raisins. That is fibre arithmetic, not proof of a better blood sugar response. We could not find a well-run glycaemic index trial on dried figs, so we are not going to claim one.

The glycaemic index numbers disagree

You will see "dates have a low glycaemic index" stated as fact. The trials are less tidy.

• Alkaabi et al., 2011. Thirteen healthy volunteers and ten people with type 2 diabetes ate five date varieties common in the UAE (Fara'd, Lulu, Abu Ouma'n, Dabbas and Khalas), each in a portion containing 50 g of available carbohydrate. Glycaemic index came out between 46.3 and 55.1 in healthy people and between 43.8 and 53.0 in people with diabetes, which counts as low on the usual scale.
• Viguiliouk et al., 2018. Ten healthy adults ate dried fruit portions with the same 50 g of available carbohydrate. The glycaemic index was 67.6 for dates, 54.7 for raisins, 50.6 for sultanas and 41.5 for apricots, against 71 for white bread. Only the apricots, raisins and sultanas were significantly lower than white bread. Dates were not. The error bar on the dates figure was wide (plus or minus 6.3), and the abstract does not say which date variety was used. This trial was supported by the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council Foundation and the National Dried Fruit Trade Association, and the second of those supplied the fruit.

Read together, the honest conclusion is that "dates" is not one number. Variety and test conditions clearly matter, and both studies are tiny. As far as we could find, nobody has published a glycaemic index for Kimia dates, the Iranian variety we sell, so we cannot tell you where it falls.

A back-of-envelope on portion size

Glycaemic index is usually measured on a 50 g carbohydrate portion. In the Viguiliouk trial that meant 77.8 g of dates or 64.8 g of raisins, much more than you would eat at once. Glycaemic load, which multiplies index by the carbohydrate you actually eat, is a more realistic yardstick. Scaling the trial's own numbers down to a 30 g portion:

• Dates: about 19 g of available carbohydrate, glycaemic load around 13
• Raisins: about 23 g of available carbohydrate, glycaemic load around 13

By the usual cut-offs (10 or below is low, 11 to 19 is medium), 30 g of either lands in the medium band. That is our calculation from one small study with wide error bars, so treat it as a rough guide to the size of the effect, not a measurement.

What the longer trials found

• Dates, 16 weeks, type 2 diabetes (Bahrain, 2020). One hundred adults were randomised to eat three dates a day or avoid dates. HbA1c did not change in either group (difference +0.087 percentage points, with a confidence interval that spans zero). Total cholesterol improved by 0.209 mmol/L in the date group. BMI was unchanged.
• Raisins, 12 weeks, type 2 diabetes (US, 2015). Fifty-one adults ate dark raisins or alternative processed snacks. After-meal glucose was 23% lower in the raisin group, and systolic blood pressure was 8.7 mmHg lower. Fasting glucose and HbA1c (down 0.12 points) did not reach statistical significance. The comparison here is raisins versus processed snacks, which is a swap, not an addition.

Both trials are small and short. Neither tells you what happens to someone eating dried fruit on top of an already sweet diet for years.

What about eating nuts alongside?

Pairing dates with a handful of nuts is common advice. Fat and protein do slow stomach emptying, so it is a reasonable habit, but we found no trial that tested it specifically with dried fruit, so we would call it habit rather than proof.

The evidence on nuts for blood sugar is real but modest. A 2014 meta-analysis of 12 trials (450 people with diabetes, median 56 g of tree nuts a day) found HbA1c 0.07 percentage points lower and fasting glucose 0.15 mmol/L lower, though most trials were short and of poor quality. A larger 2019 analysis of 40 trials found no effect on HbA1c or fasting glucose but did find lower fasting insulin and insulin resistance. A 2023 trial in Chennai found 43 g of almonds a day improved insulin resistance in overweight adults over 12 weeks, with no change in HbA1c (more in our almonds piece). Useful, not dramatic.

How we would use dates, figs and raisins

1. Swap, don't add. The one trial that showed a clear benefit compared raisins with processed snacks. A date after lunch instead of a biscuit is a good trade. A date after lunch on top of a biscuit is not.
2. Keep to about 30 g. The NHS counts 30 g of dried fruit as one portion: a heaped tablespoon of raisins or two figs. Our portion guide shows how that fits alongside nuts.
3. Have it with a meal. The NHS recommends dried fruit at mealtimes rather than as a snack all day, because it sticks to teeth.
4. Read the label. A pack of dates or figs should list one ingredient. Tart fruit such as cranberries is often sweetened, and berries are the category to check most closely.
5. If you have diabetes or prediabetes, ask your care team how much fits into your plan and how to check your own response, because two people can react differently to the same food.

Frequently asked questions

Can diabetics eat dates?

Some people with diabetes include small amounts of dates as part of a planned diet. In the Bahrain trial, three dates a day for 16 weeks did not change HbA1c. That does not mean dates are safe for everyone, and the answer depends on your medication, your numbers and your overall diet, so check with your doctor or dietitian.

Are dates, figs or raisins better for blood sugar?

We cannot rank them from the evidence. Raisins and sultanas had significantly lower glycaemic index than white bread in one trial and dates did not, but the date result is uncertain. Figs have the most fibre per gram of carbohydrate, and we found no glycaemic trial on them.

Is the sugar in dried fruit the same as added sugar?

Chemically it is similar, mostly glucose and fructose. The difference is that it arrives packaged with fibre, potassium and polyphenols, which a spoonful of sugar does not. That helps, but it is still concentrated, which is why portion size matters.

Are raisins soaked overnight better than dry ones?

We found no trial comparing soaked and dry raisins, so we cannot say that soaking changes anything beyond texture.

How many dates a day is too many?

For most healthy adults, 30 g fits comfortably as one fruit serving. That is a small handful of dates, though the count depends on the variety, so weigh yours once to see what 30 g looks like.

Our dried fruit

We sell Kimia dates, dried anjeer and brown Indian raisins. Nothing in this article is a reason to buy more of them. If you eat them, 30 g is the size to aim for.

Sources

1. Anjana RM, et al. Metabolic non-communicable disease health report of India: the ICMR-INDIAB national cross-sectional study (ICMR-INDIAB-17). Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2023.
2. Alkaabi JM, et al. Glycemic indices of five varieties of dates in healthy and diabetic subjects. Nutrition Journal, 2011.
3. Viguiliouk E, et al. Effect of dried fruit on postprandial glycemia: a randomized acute-feeding trial. Nutrition & Diabetes, 2018.
4. 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.
5. Bays H, Weiter K, Anderson J. A randomized study of raisins versus alternative snacks on glycemic control and other cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 2015.
6. Viguiliouk E, et al. Effect of tree nuts on glycemic control in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled dietary trials. PLoS ONE, 2014.
7. Tindall AM, et al. The effect of nuts on markers of glycemic control: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019.
8. Gayathri R, et al. Effect of almond consumption on insulin sensitivity and serum lipids among Asian Indian adults with overweight and obesity. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2023.
9. NHS. 5 A Day portion sizes.
10. USDA. FoodData Central.

This article is general information, not medical advice and not a diet plan. If you have diabetes, prediabetes or any other medical condition, talk to your doctor or dietitian before changing what you eat.