The Nutritional Profile of Dates: Nature's Original Energy Bar

Dates are quite the energy providers! Dates are primarily carbohydrates, making up about 75% of their mass. Within these carbs, you'll find a good chunk of sugars, around 63%, and also a fair bit of dietary fibre, about 8%. The main sugars present are monosaccharides like glucose (23–30%) and fructose (19–28%), with only a negligible amount of sucrose. They contain less than 1% fat, and provide about 2% protein.

Dates also pack in some important minerals. A 100-gram serving is considered a rich source of potassium (22% of the Daily Value). They're also a moderate source (10–19% DV) of pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, magnesium, and manganese.

Despite their sweetness, dates have a relatively low glycemic index (GI) in the range of 38–71, with an average of 53. Their glycemic load (GL) is also low, averaging at 9 for a serving of three fruits (27 grams).

There are reportedly 250-400 date cultivars and varieties.  

A cultivar (cultivated variety) is a plant variety that has been intentionally bred or selected for specific characteristics. Cultivars are human-made varieties while species are naturally occurring groups of living organisms that share common characteristics.

The following chart shows the Macronutrient Breakdown of different varieties of Dates available in India -

The data has been gathered from Open Food Facts & the nutrition labels of following products on Amazon.in -

• True Elements Omani Dates
• Tata Sampann Kalmi Dates
• Aladdin Dates Black Kimia Dates
• Nutty Gritties Ajwa Dates
• ZABBAAT Mabroom Dates
• Apis Royal Zahidi Dates
• Bolas Medjool Dates
• Al Barakah Khalas Dates
• KITCHENSMITH Safawi Dates
• Happilo Barhi Dates

More Fun Facts

Did you know that the humble date comes from a palm tree. These trees can live for over 100 years if they're looked after properly.

There's evidence of date growing in Arabia way back in the 6th millennium BCE. 

Dates have a real celebrity status in the religious world. They're highly symbolic in Muslim, Christian, and Jewish faiths. They're practically the VIPs of the fruit bowl.

While date palms do the natural thing with wind pollination, for a good harvest, humans often play matchmaker and hand-pollinate them. 

Dates come in different personalities – there are soft, semi-dry, and dry varieties.

 
Once dried, dates are basically sugar bombs, making up a whopping 61–68 percent of their mass. No wonder they're often eaten as sweet treats!

They're not just for snacking; they pop up in everything from Moroccan tagines to good old sticky toffee pudding. They even get turned into syrup, vinegar, and non-alcoholic bubbly.

It's not just the fruit that's useful! Date seeds are ground for animal feed and their oil can be used in cosmetics.

Check FoodStruct for more information on the nutritional profile and the TasteAtlas to learn about the varieties of dates.