Dr. Miller: Desert Springs, California, is known for its hot springs and its wonderful dates.

And when I'm talking about dates, I mean the edible kind.

These date trees are not native to this area.

They were imported from the Middle East and North Africa in the late 1800s as a USDA experiment.

Agriculturalists realized that the dry, hot conditions here are similar to conditions in those desert countries where date trees flourish.

I love dates.

I love how some of them taste like creamy butterscotch, and other ones are more like chewy toffee.

For me, they're a favorite dessert.

But I was actually wondering our dates literally, Candy.

Humans have been eating dates for thousands of years.

They're one of the oldest cultivated plants.

But should we be avoiding them if we're trying to prevent or treat diabetes?

Almost 12% of U.S. adults have type two diabetes and another 38% have prediabetes.

Can dates be a healthy part of your diet if you have trouble controlling your blood sugar.

Well, it turns out that there is a number of studies looking at this, and not surprisingly, a lot of the research is being done in parts of the world where they're growing lots of dates.

These are areas like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

These are also places like the United States where there has been a dramatic increase in the rate of type two diabetes.

Consensus is that instead of raising blood sugar, dates might actually play a role in managing or lowering it.

This is probably because of all the fiber that's in dates.

They have something called a low glycemic load, meaning that each state is not delivering a lot of sugar into your bloodstream.

So how many dates should you have for dessert?

Probably about 3 to 5.

And I love to have them with the mandarins because the acid cuts the sweetness.

But they can be a part of your diet if you're working to control your blood sugar.

Thanks for joining me to learn how a date farm can offer us some great, delicious, sticky medicine.