Short answer: dates are strongly alkaline-forming, and they are approved. They are also one of only two sweeteners the guide allows. What that does not mean is that you can eat them freely.
The numbers
Dates measure pH 6.20 to 6.40 — close to neutral as a food.
Their PRAL is around −15 for dried dates, among the most alkaline-forming figures in any published table. That is almost entirely potassium: dates are unusually potassium-dense.
Are dates Dr. Sebi approved?
Yes, and they carry extra status. There are exactly two approved sweeteners: date sugar or date syrup, and 100% pure agave syrup from cactus. Honey and everything refined is excluded.
A note on sugar
PRAL measures the acid or base load your kidneys handle. It says nothing about sugar. Dates are roughly two-thirds sugar by weight, and date syrup is a concentrated sugar like any other.
So “strongly alkaline-forming” and “use sparingly” are both true at once. If you are watching blood sugar, the PRAL figure is not the number that matters to you.
How to use them
- Date syrup — closest to honey in viscosity, the natural swap in drinks and dressings.
- Date sugar — dried dates ground; behaves differently from granulated sugar in baking because it does not dissolve.
- Whole or puréed dates — better than either syrup in baking, and you keep the fibre.
Buying, storing and portioning
The two varieties you will actually find are medjool and deglet nour, and they do different jobs. Medjools are large, soft and caramel-heavy; they blend to a smooth paste and are the ones to buy if you want to make your own syrup or sweeten a baked dish. Deglet nour are smaller, drier and firmer, with a lighter honey flavour, and they chop cleanly into a porridge or a grain salad without turning to mush. Deglet nour are usually half the price by weight, so for cooking rather than eating out of hand they are the sensible buy.
Buy them loose from a Middle Eastern, North African or South Asian grocer if you can — the turnover is faster and the price is often a third of what a supermarket charges for the same fruit in a plastic tray. Check the ingredients on any packet: dates should be the only thing listed. Some cheaper packs are treated with glucose syrup to keep them glossy, and some pitted dates are coated in rice flour to stop them sticking. A light white bloom on the surface is not mould; it is sugar crystallising out, and those dates are fine.
Store them in an airtight container. At room temperature they hold for a couple of months; in the fridge, six months to a year; in the freezer, considerably longer, and they thaw in minutes. If they have gone hard, ten minutes in warm water brings them back.
To make date syrup at home, simmer 250g of pitted dates in about 500ml of water for twenty minutes, blend, then strain through a fine sieve or a cloth and reduce the liquid gently until it coats a spoon. It keeps in the fridge for about a month. Date paste is simpler still: soak, blend with a splash of the soaking water, and use it spoon for spoon where a recipe wanted syrup.
On portions, two or three whole dates is a normal serving, and a teaspoon or two of the syrup is the equivalent. A date stuffed with a walnut or spread with a little sesame tahini is the classic way to make one date do the work of three, because the fat and the fibre slow the whole thing down.
This is food, not a treatment for any condition. If you have symptoms or a diagnosis, see your doctor — eating well sits alongside medical care, not instead of it.
Common questions
Are dates acidic?
No. Near-neutral as a food and strongly alkaline-forming after digestion.
Which dates are approved?
The guide names dates without restricting the variety. Medjool and deglet nour are both dates.
Is date sugar better than agave?
Both are approved. Date sugar keeps the fibre and minerals of the whole fruit; agave is more neutral in flavour. Both are concentrated sugars.
Related
- Is honey alkaline or acidic?
- Is mango alkaline or acidic?
- Is avocado alkaline or acidic?
- Is broccoli alkaline, and why isn’t it approved?
- The complete approved food list
Checking whether a sweetener is allowed? The Ackaline app scans any food and tells you whether it’s approved — free to download. The full list with the reasoning is in The Alkaline Healing Blueprint.
For education, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before making significant changes to how you eat.
