Dates are a regular in "natural aphrodisiac" recipes for men. The nutrition side is the part anyone can check: USDA lists how much sugar, fibre and minerals 100g of dates holds. The sex side is a matter for studies, and those are summarised below, along with research on diet and erectile health. Two simple recipes close the page.
USDA figures for Medjool and Deglet Noor
USDA FoodData Central has a record for Medjool dates (FDC 168191). Per 100g it lists 277 kcal, 1.81g of protein, 0.15g of fat, 66.5g of total sugars and 6.7g of fibre. For minerals it gives 696mg of potassium, 64mg of calcium, 62mg of phosphorus and 0.9mg of iron. The record for Deglet Noor dates (FDC 171726) is close: 282 kcal, 2.45g of protein, 8.0g of fibre and 1.02mg of iron per 100g.
Medjool dates originated in Morocco and are large, very soft and taste of caramel. Deglet Noor, the variety sold on the stem as kurma tangkai, comes from Tunisia and Algeria and is golden and semi-dry. One pitted Medjool date weighs 24g in the USDA record, so a single date has about 66 kcal.
Iron, fibre and how much to eat
The iron figure is small. The NHS iron page says men aged 19 and over need 8.7mg a day, and 100g of Medjool dates supplies 0.9mg of that, about a tenth.
Fibre is where dates do better. The NHS fibre page says high-fibre foods have 6g or more of fibre in every 100g, and both USDA records clear that line. The same page says government guidelines put adult fibre intake at 30g a day, while most adults eat about 20g. Because dried fruit is sticky, the NHS adds, it is better eaten as part of a meal than as a between-meal snack.
On constipation, the NHS constipation page lists not eating enough fibre among the most common causes and suggests gradually increasing the fibre in your diet. To make poo softer, it suggests fruits that contain sorbitol, such as apples, apricots, grapes (and raisins), raspberries and strawberries. Dates are not on that list, and none of the NHS pages cited here mentions drinking the water dates were soaked in.
For portion size, the NHS 5 A Day guide counts a 30g portion of dried fruit such as dates as 1 of your 5 A Day, eaten at mealtimes rather than as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth.
Do aphrodisiac foods work? What reviews say
A 2010 review by Shamloul in the Journal of Sexual Medicine concluded that the objective evidence does not support any natural aphrodisiac as an effective treatment for male or female sexual dysfunction. It also warned about sildenafil analogues being fraudulently added to natural aphrodisiac products. West and Krychman (2015) reviewed about 50 articles and concluded that randomised clinical trials are needed before health care practitioners can recommend most aphrodisiac products. Neither abstract mentions dates.
A PubMed search in October 2026 for date palm with erectile or sexual function returned four records. One was a study in hypertensive male rats and one was a trial in women. The other two, Jahromi and colleagues (2022) and Hooshang and colleagues (2022), reported rises in erectile function scores in men, but both gave date palm pollen, not the fruit. In Jahromi's trial each capsule held 300 mg of pollen, taken once a day for 30 days by infertile couples. Hooshang's 60 men had had coronary bypass surgery and took 3 grams of pollen powder twice a day for two months. Neither trial tells you what eating dates does. A separate post on this site, dates and the aphrodisiac question, goes through both trials in more detail.
Diet, weight and erectile health
The research on food and erections is about whole diets, not single foods. In the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, Bauer and colleagues (2020) followed 21,469 US male health professionals for a mean of 10.8 years. Men younger than 60 in the highest Mediterranean diet category had a lower risk of developing erectile dysfunction than those in the lowest (HR 0.78). The hazard ratios were 0.82 for men aged 60 to under 70 and 0.93 for men aged 70 and over. This was an observational cohort, so it shows an association. The authors wrote that a healthy dietary pattern "may play a role" in maintaining erectile health.
A trial points the same way for weight and activity. Esposito and colleagues (2004) randomised 110 obese men aged 35 to 55 with erectile dysfunction, 55 per group. The intervention group was advised how to lose 10% or more of body weight by eating fewer calories and being more active. After 2 years, its mean erectile function score rose from 13.9 to 17, while the control group went from 13.5 to 13.6.
The NHS erectile dysfunction page says most men occasionally fail to get or keep an erection, usually because of stress, tiredness or drinking too much alcohol. Its list of lifestyle changes that can sometimes help is: lose weight if you're overweight, stop smoking, eat a healthy diet, exercise daily and try to reduce stress and anxiety. If erection problems keep happening, it says to see a GP or go to a sexual health clinic. The page notes it might be a sign of a health condition that can be treated.
Yoghurt and oats sweetened with dates
Chop two pitted Medjool dates into a bowl of natural yoghurt, add a spoon of rolled oats and a few chopped walnuts, and leave it for five minutes so the oats soften. The dates do the sweetening, so there is no need for honey or sugar. Eat it with breakfast, which keeps the dried fruit at a mealtime as the NHS suggests.
Rice bowl with chickpeas and dates
Fry a sliced onion in a little oil until soft, stir in a tin of drained chickpeas, a pinch of cumin and a handful of chopped Deglet Noor dates, and warm through. Serve over rice with plenty of chopped tomato and cucumber on the side. A few dates go a long way here. Their sweetness works against the cumin, and the vegetables fill the rest of the plate.
This article is general information, not medical advice.
For questions or orders, read about Jual Kurma or send a WhatsApp message through the contact page.
References
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central, SR Legacy 168191: Dates, medjool. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central, SR Legacy 171726: Dates, deglet noor. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- NHS. Vitamins and minerals: iron. nhs.uk
- NHS. How to get more fibre into your diet. nhs.uk
- NHS. Constipation. nhs.uk
- NHS. 5 A Day: what counts? nhs.uk
- Shamloul R. Natural aphrodisiacs. J Sex Med. 2010;7(1 Pt 1):39-49. PMID 19796015
- West E, Krychman M. Natural aphrodisiacs: a review of selected sexual enhancers. Sex Med Rev. 2015;3(4):279-288. PMID 27784600
- Jahromi AR, Mosallanezhad Z, Hosini FS, Jamali S, Sharifi N. The effect of date palm on sexual function in infertile couples: a double-blind controlled clinical trial. BMC Res Notes. 2022;15(1):55. PMID 35168636
- Hooshang H, Farahani AV, Rezaeizadeh H, et al. Efficacy of date palm pollen in the male sexual dysfunction after coronary artery bypass graft: a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022;2022:5032681. PMID 35388309
- Bauer SR, Breyer BN, Stampfer MJ, Rimm EB, Giovannucci EL, Kenfield SA. Association of diet with erectile dysfunction among men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(11):e2021701. PMID 33185675
- Esposito K, Giugliano F, Di Palo C, et al. Effect of lifestyle changes on erectile dysfunction in obese men: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2004;291(24):2978-84. PMID 15213209
- NHS. Erectile dysfunction (impotence). nhs.uk