Raisins and walking affect heart risk factors
What it found
In 34 men and postmenopausal women, eating raisins or walking more both improved some heart risk factors, but in different ways.
The study lasted 6 weeks.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood pressure
Systolic blood pressure dropped by 2.2% for all groups combined. Diastolic blood pressure did not change.
Cholesterol
Total cholesterol fell by 9.4% and LDL cholesterol fell by 13.7% for all participants, regardless of group. HDL cholesterol stayed the same.
Triglycerides
Triglycerides dropped by 19.5% only in the walking group. They did not change in the raisin or combined groups.
Blood sugar and insulin
Plasma glucose and insulin did not change in any group.
Inflammation
TNF-alpha fell from 3.5 ng/L to 2.1 ng/L in the raisin group, but not in the walking or combined groups. sICAM-1 fell in all groups.
What the authors conclude
“This research shows that simple lifestyle modifications such as adding raisins to the diet or increasing steps walked have distinct beneficial effects on CVD risk.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that simple lifestyle changes like adding raisins to the diet or increasing steps walked have distinct beneficial effects on heart disease risk factors.
- They say that blood pressure, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol were significantly decreased by all interventions, while walking lowered triglycerides.
- They note that all interventions reduced sICAM-1, and raisins lowered TNF-alpha, which may help prevent inflammatory damage.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see if eating raisins, walking more, or both could improve blood pressure, blood fats, blood sugar, insulin, and inflammation, which are all linked to heart disease risk.
They randomly assigned 34 men and postmenopausal women, aged 50 to 70, to one of three groups for 6 weeks: eat 1 cup of raisins a day, walk more steps a day, or both. They measured blood pressure, blood fats, glucose, insulin, and inflammatory markers before and after.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a small study of 34 people over 6 weeks, so the results may not apply to everyone or to longer periods.
- The study cannot show whether these changes in risk factors would actually lead to fewer heart attacks or strokes.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Department of Nutritional Sciences University of Connecticut, USA
The paper
- Title
- Raisins and additional walking have distinct effects on plasma lipids and inflammatory cytokines
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Puglisi MJ, Vaishnav U, Shrestha S, et al (2008). Raisins and additional walking have distinct effects on plasma lipids and inflammatory cytokines. Lipids in health and disease. doi:10.1186/1476-511X-7-14Free full textPubMed 18416823DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error