Date fruit products and female health across life stages
What it found
Across 21 studies, date fruit products were linked to better haemoglobin in teenage girls, improved fertility and sexual function in women of reproductive age, and fewer menopausal symptoms.
The studies included women, mice, rats, rabbits and heifers.
What they found
Studies in people
Anaemia in teenage girls
Seven studies in adolescent girls who were anaemic or at risk of anaemia found that eating seven dates or drinking 250 cc of date syrup daily for seven days to two months improved haemoglobin, ferritin and haematocrit levels.
Fertility in women
Taking 500 mg date fruit extract capsules three times daily alongside standard infertility treatments for 12 weeks improved follicle measures, endometrial thickness and luteinizing hormone levels compared with standard treatment alone. Follicle-stimulating hormone levels did not change significantly.
Sexual function
Daily intake of a 300 mg date extract capsule for 4 to 5 weeks improved Female Sexual Function Index scores for desire, lubrication and overall score in women, and improved erectile function in men.
Menopause symptoms
In menopausal women, eating seven dates daily for 8 weeks reduced anti-Mullerian hormone levels. Results for 300 mg date extract capsules on sexual problems were mixed: 5 weeks improved vaginal lubrication and dyspareunia, but 4 weeks did not.
Animal and lab studies
Hormones in puberty
Three studies in crossbreed heifers found that adding two kilograms of date fruit to their daily diet improved luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and estrogen levels, and sexual maturity.
Fertility in animals
In female mice, rats and rabbits, date fruit or date palm pollen improved ovarian function, reproductive efficiency, antioxidant capacity and embryo quality.
What the authors conclude
“The findings from this comprehensive review suggest that the inclusion of date fruits in women's diets can significantly alleviate various health issues encountered throughout different life stages.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that including date fruits in women's diets can significantly alleviate various health issues across different life stages.
- They say date fruit consumption improves anaemia-related indicators, supports hormonal balance, enhances ovulation and metabolic parameters in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, and improves sexual function in both men and women.
- They advise that providing women with proper nutrition, particularly by incorporating date fruits, offers a cost-effective alternative to medical interventions and serves as a key preventive measure for improving women's health.
How it was done
Most studies on date fruit have focused on pregnancy and breastfeeding, and a full picture of their effects across different stages of a woman's life was missing.
The authors searched five databases for experimental studies published between January 2013 and March 2024. They found 21 studies with 1,001 participants in total: 856 women, 35 crossbreed heifers, 10 mice, 40 rats and 60 rabbits. The studies took place in Iran, Indonesia, Iraq, Egypt and Jordan.
What it can’t tell you
- The review includes animal studies, so those results may not apply to women.
- Some included studies had small sample sizes or no control group, which limits how much can be concluded.
- The authors call for more human intervention studies at different stages of women's lives to strengthen the conclusions.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Iran; Tarbiat Modares University, Iran; Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Iran
The paper
- Title
- Improving Female Health at Various Life Stages: A systematic review of the impact of date fruit products
- Type
- Systematic review
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY-ND. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Shirdel E, Rahimi F, Jafarzadeh M, Abdi F, Rahnemaei FA (2025). Improving Female Health at Various Life Stages: A systematic review of the impact of date fruit products . Sultan Qaboos University medical journal. doi:10.18295/squmj.10.2024.064Free full textPubMed 40641695DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error