
Nowadays, sugar is the boogeyman in our cupboards since research shows it may cause a variety of health problems. If foods were criminals and diseases were crimes, sugar is going to fit a lot of descriptions. Despite today’s preoccupation with sugar, the health concerns regarding sugar aren’t entirely new. The connection between sugar and disease may have begun in the 1600s when Thomas Willis, an English physician, noted that a diabetic patient’s urine tasted “sweet like sugar or honey.” He subsequently added ‘mellitus,’ meaning “from honey,” to the term diabetes—coining the condition’s present-day name. I’ve heard health professionals correct patients for saying “sugar diabetes,” but technically the term does mean ‘sugar’ diabetes and Latin went out of style 1000 years ago. Regardless of terminology, I’m just grateful that drinking urine isn’t part of a doctor’s job description anymore. If it were, my site’s name would just be “thekitchen.com.”

To my wife: I know nothing about tinder, but I thought this was hilarious
Aside from sugar contributing to heart disease, weight gain, diabetes, fatty liver, et cetera; the main issue with sugar is it tasting so good. If sugar tasted like dried nutmeg, I wouldn’t have to write this post. We love sugar, but sugar doesn’t love us—therein lies a problem. Artificial sweeteners aren’t exactly delicious, and they also have negative health implications.
So are there any ‘healthy’ sweeteners?
My patients commonly pose this question (right along with ‘how much sugar should I have per day?‘).
Most people, including physicians, have their assumptions of which sweeteners are healthy or at least healthier than plain white sugar. People assume that honey, brown sugar, and agave are healthier alternatives to refined sugar, but this is not entirely accurate. Well, let’s try to avoid assumptions and look at a few studies.
In 2009, researchers looked at nutrient value and antioxidant content of several different types of sweeteners in an amount equivalent to 1.5 cups of refined sugar in a standard cake recipe (1). I summarized their findings in the infographic below.

Date sugar had the highest antioxidant content of the sugars studied
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They found that date sugar, was the healthiest since it had the highest antioxidant content. That’s not surprising since date sugar is ground whole dried dates. All of the vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants from the date end up in the sugar. Antioxidants are great for decreasing cancer, but decreasing cancer isn’t what we immediately think about when eating sugar. The primary concern with eating sugar is increasing one’s blood sugar. These researchers did not look at how date sugar affects blood sugar/glucose levels, but others did.
In 2009, Israeli researchers fed a group of men 100g of hallawi and medjool dates (3-4 dates or 3.5 ounces) every day for four weeks and checked their weights and labs including blood glucose (sugar), cholesterol, and antioxidant levels. They found that eating this amount of dates did not affect weight or blood sugar. They even discovered that eating dates slightly improved the triglyceride levels of the guys in the study (2).
Based on these studies, I frequently use date sugar in my kitchen. I can’t say I use it all the time because it is sometimes hard to find in stores. You can find it at expensive specialty stores, but my student loans and three kids limit my flexible spending for expensive sugar. Thankfully, making a date paste from scratch is a simple, cheaper alternative since dried dates are easy to find. I typically use a date paste in smoothies, bbq sauces, oatmeal, or when baking. I don’t recommend trying to put it in your coffee, tea, or juice (it’ll just end up a thick juicy mess).
Here’s a simple recipe for date paste:

[mpprecipe-recipe:1]
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References:
- M. P. Katherine and H. C. Monica. Total antioxidant content of alternatives to refined sugar. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Jan;109(1):64-71.
- W. Rock, M. Rosenblat, H. Borochov-Neori, N. Volkova, S. Judeinstein, M. Elias, and M. Aviram. Effects of date (Phoenix dactylifera L., Medjool or Hallawi Variety) consumption by healthy subjects on serum glucose and lipid levels and on serum oxidative status: a pilot study. J. Agric. Food. Chem., 57(17):8010{8017, 2009.






Great job Doc! Being a doctor and a chef are excellent and complimentary positions to have. I look forward to reading more of your posts.
Thanks, Shiseida. I appreciate the love and feedback. That’s the type of comment that keeps me motivated.
I m having diabetes, can I use this date past?
Depends on how well your blood glucose is controlled. It’s fine if in small amounts (1-2 teaspoons here and there) if you are well controlled. They have done studies showing that small amounts of dates don’t significantly elevate blood glucose levels. If your blood glucose is poorly controlled, then you should use even less and think about the impact of your diet as a whole. It also depends on what you are using it. If it’s in a healthy dish like oatmeal or a low calorie smoothie, great! If it’s in cookies or other baked goods, it’s healthier than sugar, but not healthy enough to make an unhealthy dish healthy. I recommend that you have a conversation with your doctor or dietician since my advice is limited by not knowing all the details about your diabetes. It was a great question. I’m working on an article about nutrition and diabetes. Stay tuned.
Ed thank you. This is really good and very informative. We are all very lucky to have a Dr. That truly cares about people.
You and your wife are planting very good seeds out there. Thank you!
Thank you Cristina! We are trying our best. Miss you. We need a Kendall reunion.
I don’t understand
What about stevia is that better than dates?
It depends on your definition of better. Stevia has 0 calories, but it isn’t a significant source of vitamins, minerals, fiber, or antioxidants. Ultimately, stevia can play a role in a healthy low calorie diet. However, based on its nutrient profile alone, I wouldn’t label it as healthy.
Great information! Thank you. Wondering how best to use this as a sugar replacement in recipes? Is there a rough equivalency you can share?