I like fresh dates when I can get them. Dried dates I usually find a bit chewy and the large medjool dates are usually too sweet for me.

Fresh dates are sweet and moist and taste great in combination with some good Normandy camenbert.

Sure you can fear the sugar if you want. However when you reach the end of your life and look back, will your life have been better and more worthwhile for never having eaten some dates? Personally I sometimes eat food simply because it tastes awesome.

I eat a ton of dates and still manage perfect body fat and blood sugar. I am an athlete though, and time them generally more around/during workouts.

dates+almond butter = best desert ever

also, it may be high in fructose, but at least it's a real food. For anyone who has a sweet tooth it's gotta be far better than a cooked/processed desert

I would completely avoid anything that is that high in fructose. It might be better to find a sweetener that is pure glucose, such as rice syrup.

I love cooked dates wrapped in bacon, not a dessert and not very paleo at all, I rarely eat this, even as a recovery food from a workout.

Hmm...dates seem very high in fructose. From http://www.livestrong.com:

Dates are fructose-rich foods. A type of date called medjool contains 31,954 milligrams of fructose per 3-oz. serving, according to NutritionData.com. A 3-oz. serving is the equivalent of three dates. This amount can supply up to 20 percent of your daily recommended allotment of fructose, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Deglet noor, another type of date, is also rich in fructose. A 3-oz. serving contains an impressive 19,559 milligrams of fructose.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/35748-list-foods-fructose-content/#ixzz1Eu8ae5BN

I would use rice syrup as a sweetener. It contains no fructose. The Jaminets use it as their sweetener of choice (perfecthealthdiet.com).

Once or twice a week I have a fruit salad: one fresh date, one fig, 5-6 fresh cranberries and something like a banana or pear. I sprinkle it with cinnamon and it's heavenly. I go out of my way to have both date and cranberry in the same spoonfuls as they are a lively sweet/sour combination.

Compared to how I ate all my life--and somehow managed to wind up healthier in my 60s than many of my friends--this is a healthy and tasty treat.

I sometimes use them when I make coconut bars; they really help bind everything together. It works out to a little less than 1 date per bar, I don't sweat it too much since I don't eat them often.

http://www.bigtreefarms.com/coconutsugar/

Coconut Palm sugar is amazing.

Dates actually have higher glocose than fructose, hence the high glycemic index. It changes if you ad protein, fibre or fat though. You also cannot compare dates to a high fructose processed syrup. Too much fat slows insulin response. Over consumption of processed suger will burn out your pancreas. If you eat whole fruits and veggies, lean proteins, and healthy fatty acids even whole grains, beans and legumes. You will not get type 2 diabeties or be obese.

Sugar bomb and 100% paleo.

Paleo is not by definition a low carb diet. There were plenty of foods (like dates) that were available to paleo man that was high in sugar. But, (unlike today) they were not as common--seasonal or regional foods.

If your goal is to lose weight, then you have to be aware of the glycemic load of servings of various foods.

If your goal is to be healthier by eating paleo (and cutting out the junk), then I wouldn't worry about it. Just remember that fruit was a side item for paleo man, not the basis of their diet.