Banana vs Dates – Which is Healthier?

Our Verdict

When comparing bananas to dates, we picked the dates

Why?

Both are great, but there was a clear winner! We pitted these two against each other as they’re both sweet fruits often used as a sweetening and consistency-altering ingredient in desserts and sweet snacks, so if you’re making a choice between them, here are the things to consider:

In terms of macros, dates have more than 3x the fiber, more than 2x the protein, and a little over 3x the carbs. You may be wondering how this adds up in terms of glycemic index: dates have the lower GI. So, we pick dates, here, for that reason and overall nutritional density too.

In the category of vitmains, bananas have more of vitamins A, B6, C, and E, while dates have more of vitamins B1, B3, B5, B7, and K making for a marginal victory for dates in this round.

Looking at minerals next, however, it’s quite one-sided: bananas are not higher in any minerals (no, not even potassium, for which they are famous—dates have nearly 2x more potassium than bananas), while dates have more dates have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium (as mentioned), selenium, and zinc. So, an overwhelming win for dates here.

Adding up the sections makes for a very clear overall win for dates, but by all means do enjoy either or both, as diversity is best!

Want to learn more?

You might like:

From Apples to Bees, and High-Fructose Cs: Which Sugars Are Healthier, And Which Are Just The Same?

Enjoy!