Raisin

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Blood sugar and heart health³

  Raisins have a low to moderate effect on blood sugar and may lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

• Benefit

  Digestive and heart health⁴

  Raisins have both kinds of fiber, which can help with fullness, blood sugar, cholesterol and constipation.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar response⁵

  In human studies, raisins can lower the insulin response after a meal, but it is not clear how much the polyphenols matter.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar and blood pressure⁶

  In people, eating raisins three times a day lowered blood sugar and blood pressure compared with processed snacks.

• Benefit

  Inflammation marker levels⁸

  In a six-week study, people eating a cup of raisins daily had lower levels of one inflammation marker.

• Open question

  Gut bacteria balance⁹

  In people, eating raisins daily changed some gut bacteria, but scientists do not yet know if that helps health.

• No harm found

  Heart and blood vessel health¹⁰

  In smokers, eating raisins daily for four weeks did not change most heart and blood markers.

• Benefit

  Hunger and cholesterol¹¹

  In people, eating raisins raised hormones tied to feeling full, and the study suggests raisins and walking lower LDL cholesterol.

• Open question

  Blood antioxidant levels¹²

  Eating raisins daily may help blood antioxidants over time, though scientists saw mixed results in 15 men.

• Benefit

  Gut and bowel habits¹³

  In people, eating sun-dried raisins softened stools, sped up gut transit and raised helpful fatty acids.

• Benefit

  Colon function and cancer risk¹⁴

  Eating raisins every day made stool heavier and moved it through faster, and lowered bile acids tied to colon cancer risk.

• No harm found

  Blood sugar after meals¹⁵

  In people, swapping some oats for raisins did not change blood sugar or insulin levels after eating.

• Benefit

  Blood antioxidant defence¹⁷

  Eating raisins quickly raised blood antioxidants in healthy people, and the plant compounds in raisins got into their blood.

• Open question

  Antioxidant levels after meals¹⁸

  Eating raisins daily slightly raised antioxidant levels in overweight people, but did not change inflammation after a fatty meal.

• Benefit

  Blood pressure in diabetes²⁰

  In people with type 2 diabetes, eating Corinthian raisins lowered diastolic blood pressure and raised antioxidant levels.

• Open question

  Kids' mealtime appetite²¹

  In children, a snack of raisins before a pizza meal led them to eat less pizza.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria²⁸

  Sun-dried raisins helped good gut bacteria grow and make more organic acids in a lab model.

Study type not stated

• Benefit

  Heart and gut health²³

  Raisins may help heart health and appetite, but scientists do not yet know enough about gut benefits.

Found in some samples or products

These come from where it was grown, how it was processed or cooked, or what it was made into. They are not about the ingredient itself, so the signal does not count them.

• Pesticides in dried fruit¹⁹

  Many regular raisins held several pesticides at once, while organic raisins had none; some samples broke the rules.

• Pesticide traces in dried fruit²⁴

  Some packed raisins from Iran held pesticide traces, but levels were low enough that scientists saw no cancer risk.

• Drying concentrates residues²⁵

  Pesticides on grapes can become more concentrated when the grapes are dried into raisins.

• Lead in dried fruit²⁶

  Raisins from Turkey once held high lead, but lead levels in Turkish raisins are low now.

• Toxin-producing mould on fruit²⁷

  A mould that can make a toxin called fumonisin was often found on California raisins.

• Contaminant levels in dried fruit²⁹

  Raisins and other dried fruits had only low levels of toxic metals and mould toxins.

How it’s made and used

• After-school snacking in children⁷

  Kids ate the fewest calories from raisins and grapes, and the most from cookies.

• Appetite hormones¹⁶

  In ten healthy people, raisins changed some hunger hormones more than glucose did.

• Exercise fuel before a ride²²

  Cyclists who ate raisins before cycling performed the same as those who ate sports gel.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.