Raisins: Nutrients, What Research Shows and Safety

Raisins are dried grapes, the fruit of the grapevine Vitis vinifera (grape family, Vitaceae). The whole dried berry is eaten, on its own or in cereal, baking and cooking. People eat raisins for their sweetness and fiber and ask whether they help blood sugar or the heart. This page keeps the food apart from supplements and from hype.

Read this first

• Raisins are concentrated: about 65 g of sugar in every 100 g (USDA). [1] A small 43 g box has about 28 g of sugar. People who count carbohydrates for diabetes should treat raisins as a carbohydrate food.
• Some dried fruit is treated with sulfites (preservatives). Sulfites can cause serious reactions in sensitive people, including some people with asthma. In January 2025 the FDA published a recall of golden raisins sold without a sulfite warning on the label. [7] For trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat, call 911. See food allergy basics and emergency signs.
• People with kidney disease or on medicines that raise potassium should ask their care team, because raisins are rich in potassium (744 mg per 100 g). [1][8]
• Dog food-safety note: grapes and raisins have been reported to cause sudden kidney injury in dogs. [9] Keep them away from pets.
• Honest summary: two small trials (one reported in a press summary) and a large observational study point in a good direction for blood sugar and blood pressure, but the evidence is limited and none of it shows that raisins prevent or treat a disease.

What is in it (USDA values)

Values are for dark, seedless raisins, USDA FoodData Central item 168165, with the USDA household portion of 1 small box, 1.5 oz (43 g). [1] Per-box figures are our arithmetic from the USDA per-100 g values. % Daily Value uses the FDA 2016 Daily Values; values vary with variety, ripeness and storage. For comparison, USDA also lists 1 cup (not packed) as 145 g and 1 oz (60 raisins) as 28 g. [1]

Raisins contain phenolic compounds (plant pigments studied for health effects). A review of raisin research describes these compounds and notes that most of the evidence on them comes from cell and animal studies, with few human intervention studies. [2] We did not read a source giving the amount of phenolic compounds in a serving, so we give none.

What research says

Eaten as food vs taken as a supplement or extract. The trial above used whole raisins as a snack, compared with processed snacks, not compared with doing nothing. [3] The cohort result covers grapes and raisins together. [5] Raisin extracts and capsules are not covered by these studies. We did not find a human trial of raisins on heart attacks, strokes or death: Proper evidence not found in the sources we read.

How much is a normal serving

• The USDA household portions for raisins are 1 small box, 1.5 oz (43 g), about 129 kcal, and 1 oz, about 60 raisins (28 g). [1] This is information, not a prescription.
• The UK NHS counts 30 g of dried fruit as one portion of 5 A Day, equal to about 80 g of fresh fruit. It suggests eating dried fruit at mealtimes rather than as a snack between meals, to lower the risk of tooth decay. [6]
• Dried fruit is concentrated: raisins are only about 15% water (USDA), so a small amount carries a lot of sugar and energy. [1]
• We did not find a read source on how drying or cooking changes raisin nutrients: Proper evidence not found in the sources we read. See fresh, frozen and canned produce.

Safety, allergy and medicines

• Sulfites: some dried fruit, especially light-colored golden raisins, may contain sulfites. An FDA recall notice in January 2025 describes golden raisins with sulfites not declared on the label; it says sulfite-sensitive people can have serious or life-threatening reactions and that the tested product had 56.8 mg per serving. [7] Read the label. We did not read a source on how common sulfite use is in dark raisins.
• Allergy: raisins are dried grapes. We did not read a source on raisin allergy itself. If you have had a reaction to a food, an allergist can test you. For trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat, call 911. See food allergy basics and emergency signs.
• Sugar and diabetes: about 65 g of sugar per 100 g (USDA). [1] The trial in people with diabetes used raisins in place of processed snacks, not on top of usual snacks. [3] See foods for blood sugar control.
• Potassium and kidney disease: raisins have 744 mg of potassium per 100 g and 320 mg in a 43 g box. [1] MedlinePlus says that with chronic kidney disease the kidneys may not clear extra potassium and that some medicines can also raise potassium levels. [8] Ask your kidney team what suits you. See foods, kidney disease, potassium and oxalates.
• Teeth: the NHS advises dried fruit at mealtimes to reduce tooth decay risk. [6]
• Dogs: a veterinary study notes that eating grapes or raisins has been reported to cause acute kidney injury in dogs, and in its small series most dogs were severely ill. [9] If a dog has eaten raisins, call a veterinarian or an animal poison hotline. See pet poisoning.
• Medicines: we did not find a read source describing a medicine interaction with eating raisins, so we make no claim either way. Ask a pharmacist if you take medicines that affect potassium.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: Proper evidence not found in the sources we read.
• Choking and pesticide residues: we did not read a source on raisins for either, so we make no claim.

Choosing, storing and food safety

• Read the label of dried fruit for added sugar and for a sulfite statement. [7]
• Rinse fresh produce under running water, without soap, and cut away damaged parts. [10] We did not read a source on rinsing packaged dried fruit.
• Keep packaged dried fruit sealed and dry. We did not read an official source on storage times for raisins: Proper evidence not found in the sources we read.

Related pages

• Fruit juice vs whole fruit
• Fresh, frozen and canned produce
• Polyphenols and flavonoids in foods
• Foods for blood sugar control
• Foods, kidney disease, potassium and oxalates
• Food allergy basics and emergency signs