In terms of vitamins and minerals, dates are a solid middle-of-the-pack option.

They slightly outperform some popular fruits and vegetables like bananas, oranges, raspberries, and potatoes.

But their price and calorie content work against them. By these measures, dates can’t be considered either cost-effective or low-calorie. Compared to many other foods, their overall value is fairly modest.

However, if you narrow the comparison and look only at sweets, the picture changes.

Candy is no better in terms of price or calories. But while typical sweets offer little beyond a spike in blood sugar, dates also provide some vitamins and minerals.

So if you have a sweet tooth, dates are a reasonable alternative.