Survey study, 2025
Do dates help with premenstrual syndrome symptoms?
Eating dates may help some PMS symptoms including cramps, mood changes, and heavy bleeding, according to this small intervention study of 36 volunteers.
What they did
Researchers gave dates to 20 volunteers over 5 consecutive menstrual cycles and compared them to 16 control volunteers who did not eat dates, using a questionnaire to track PMS symptoms.
What they found
Eating dates caused earlier onset of mood changes, heavy bleeding, and bleeding clots. Dates had a beneficial effect on abdominal cramps, mood changes, heavy bleeding, vaginal secretions, and bleeding clots. Hormonal markers including luteinizing hormone, prolactin, progesterone, and estradiol correlated with symptom onset and severity.
What it means for you
Dates may help some PMS symptoms, though the benefit is unclear since symptoms also appeared earlier with dates. The study was very small with only 36 women, did not clearly describe the control group's diet, and we do not know why dates would cause this pattern. More rigorous testing is needed.
36
total volunteers
5
consecutive menstrual cycles
20
volunteers in dates group
About the study
- Original title
- Date Palm Fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Ameliorated Some Premenstrual Symptoms: Results from an Intervention Trial for 5 Consecutive Menstrual Cycles
- Authors
- Hiba Fathi Al-Sayyed, Hamed Rabah Takruri, Nawal A. Bakir et al.
- Journal
- Current Nutrition & Food Science
- Year
- 2025
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 36
- What was tested
- Date palm fruit (Phoenix dactylifera) fed over 5 consecutive menstrual cycles
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.2174/0115734013339565241107050018
Topics
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