Medjool dates are often sold with the promise that they strengthen the immune system. A PubMed search for Medjool and immunity returns no studies at all, so there is no trial to quote. What can be checked is the nutrient list. The USDA has measured what is in a Medjool date, and immune researchers have published which nutrients the immune system needs. This page puts the two side by side.
This page is general information, not medical advice. If you have a health condition or a weak immune system, ask your doctor or a dietitian before changing what you eat.
Which nutrients the immune system needs
A 2020 review of micronutrients and the immune system by Gombart, Pierre and Maggini says the immune system needs multiple specific micronutrients, including vitamins A, D, C, E, B6 and B12, folate, zinc, iron, copper and selenium. It names vitamins C and D and zinc as the ones with the strongest evidence for immune support. The authors also write that better human studies are required to substantiate the benefits of supplements against infection. Two of the three authors work for Bayer Consumer Care, a multivitamin maker, and the paper declares this.
Magnesium and potassium are not on that list.
What a Medjool date contains
USDA FoodData Central record 168191, "Dates, medjool" (SR Legacy, updated 2019) gives the values below per 100 g. The same record lists one pitted Medjool date at 24 g, so the middle column is 24% of the 100 g figure. The last column is what the NHS says adults aged 19 to 64 need each day.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per date (24 g) | NHS adult daily need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin C | 0.0 mg | 0 mg | 40 mg |
| Vitamin D | 0.0 µg | 0 µg | 10 micrograms |
| Zinc | 0.44 mg | about 0.1 mg | 9.5 mg (men), 7 mg (women) |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.249 mg | about 0.06 mg | 1.4 mg (men), 1.2 mg (women) |
| Folate | 15 µg | 3.6 µg | 200 micrograms |
| Copper | 0.362 mg | about 0.09 mg | 1.2 mg |
| Magnesium | 54 mg | about 13 mg | 300 mg (men), 270 mg (women) |
| Potassium | 696 mg | about 167 mg | 3,500 mg |
So for the three nutrients the review rates most strongly, a Medjool date gives no vitamin C, no vitamin D and about a tenth of a milligram of zinc. Of the nutrients in the table above, copper is the one Medjool carries most of compared with daily need: 30% per 100 g. The NHS says copper is thought to be important for the immune system, among other things, and 100 g of Medjool holds 0.362 mg of the 1.2 mg adults need.
The vitamin B12 and folate claim
An older version of this page said Medjool dates are rich in vitamin B-12, folate, magnesium and potassium, and that these strengthen the immune system. The USDA record has no vitamin B12 value at all. The NHS says vitamin B12 is not found naturally in foods such as fruit, vegetables and grains, and lists meat, fish, milk, cheese, eggs and some fortified breakfast cereals as good sources.
Folate is there, but in a small amount: 3.6 µg in one date against the 200 micrograms adults need. The NHS lists broccoli, brussels sprouts, leafy green vegetables, peas, chickpeas and kidney beans among good sources.
Magnesium and potassium are where Medjool does carry real amounts. The NHS describes magnesium as helping turn the food we eat into energy, and potassium as helping control the balance of fluids in the body and helping the heart muscle work properly. Neither NHS description mentions immunity.
Antioxidants and cancer
The old text also said Medjool dates are rich in antioxidants that battle cancer cells and lower the risk of certain cancers and heart disease. The research does not reach that far. A 2013 laboratory study of nine Israeli date varieties, Medjool among them, found that extracts of all of them inhibited LDL oxidation, and most extracts stimulated cholesterol removal from macrophages. That was tested in the lab on extracts, not on people eating dates. A PubMed search for Medjool with cancer returns two papers: that one, and a 2023 study of palm seeds tested against a colorectal cancer cell line. Neither is a study in people.
The one infection study in people used Ajwa
The closest human evidence is a nonrandomized controlled trial at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah. It followed pediatric cancer patients admitted between 2008 and 2017. Of 56 included, 26 agreed to take Ajwa dates and 30 served as controls. The Ajwa group had significantly fewer infections and fewer hospital admissions for fever-associated neutropenia, and a better survival rate.
That study used Ajwa, not Medjool. It was not randomised, and the patients were children under cancer treatment. It does not show that healthy adults eating Medjool dates get fewer infections.
Claims that were removed
Earlier text tied Medjool to weight loss, diabetes control, younger skin, lower blood pressure and stroke prevention, with no source for any of them, and those lines are gone. It also said dates have a high content of fat. The USDA record lists 0.15 g of fat per 100 g. Fibre is 6.7 g per 100 g. Anyone reading about the benefits of dates elsewhere should check whether a claim comes from a study in people, a lab dish or no study at all.
Where Medjool fits in a normal diet
The NHS counts a 30 g portion of dried fruit, such as dates, as 1 of your 5 A Day, but says it should be eaten at mealtimes, not as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth. With one pitted Medjool at 24 g, that portion is about one and a quarter dates. For vitamin C, zinc and B12, the NHS source lists above point to other foods. Medjool can sit next to them as dates fruit with real potassium, magnesium and fibre.
Medjool Dates Exporter supplies dates from single retail orders up to wholesale, delivered across the country; see the About us page. For questions or a quote, use the Contact us page.
References
- Gombart AF, Pierre A, Maggini S. A Review of Micronutrients and the Immune System: Working in Harmony to Reduce the Risk of Infection. Nutrients. 2020;12(1):236. PMID 31963293
- Borochov-Neori H, et al. Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruit soluble phenolics composition and anti-atherogenic properties in nine Israeli varieties. J Agric Food Chem. 2013;61(18):4278-86. PMID 23587027
- Rincón-Cervera MÁ, et al. Arecaceae Seeds Constitute a Healthy Source of Fatty Acids and Phenolic Compounds. Plants (Basel). 2023;12(2):226. PMID 36678939
- Al Jaouni SK, et al. Effects of Phoenix dactylifera Ajwa on Infection, Hospitalization, and Survival Among Pediatric Cancer Patients in a University Hospital: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial. Integr Cancer Ther. 2019;18:1534735419828834. PMID 30791734
- USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, 2019). Dates, medjool, FDC 168191
- NHS. B vitamins and folic acid
- NHS. Vitamin C
- NHS. Vitamin D
- NHS. Others (vitamins and minerals)
- NHS. 5 A Day: what counts?