Sultana

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Digestive and heart health³

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

• Benefit

  Blood sugar and appetite⁴

  Sultanas may lower the blood sugar rise after a meal and help you feel full, but more research is needed.

• Benefit

  After-school snacking in children⁵

  Kids ate fewer calories from raisins than from cookies, and raisins curbed later eating.

• Open question

  How much children eat⁶

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

• Open question

  Blood antioxidant levels⁸

  In 15 healthy men, eating golden raisins daily slightly improved some antioxidant measures over time, but results were mixed.

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.

• Pesticide exposure and cancer risk⁹

  Some packed raisins from Iran held pesticide residues, but levels found were not linked to cancer risk.

• Toxin risk in dried fruit¹⁰

  A mould that grows on California raisins can make a toxin called fumonisin B2, and scientists say more testing is needed.

How it’s made and used

• Exercise energy and performance⁷

  In cyclists, eating sultanas before exercise worked as well as sports gel for a short ride.

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.