Raisins pack more nutrition than their small size might indicate. When grapes are dehydrated to produce raisins, the nutrients become more concentrated, making a handful of raisins a snack rich in B vitamins, iron and potassium. Besides nutrients, raisins are also a good source of carbohydrates for energy.
Eating Raisins Every Day
One of the biggest benefits of eating raisins is that they’re a quick, easy and tasty way to get some of your daily recommended fruit servings. Women should eat at least 1.5 cups of fruit daily and men should have 2 cups, according to ChooseMyPlate.gov. One small box of raisins, which is 1.5 ounces and holds about 90 raisins, fills one-half cup of your daily fruit requirement, plus it only has 129 calories and no fat.
Carbohydrates for Energy
The 34 grams of carbohydrates in one small box of raisins include 26 grams of sugar for rapid energy. If you use sports chews or other sports products to add carbohydrates and improve performance while you exercise or participate in endurance sports, you can get the same benefit from eating raisins, according to a review in the Journal of Food Science in 2013. You’ll also get 1.6 grams of fiber, which is 4 percent of men’s and 6 percent of women’s daily intake from just one small box of raisins. About half of the total is soluble fiber that helps lower cholesterol and balance blood sugar.
Eating raisins every day helps you meet your daily requirement for iron. Even though most of the iron in the body carries oxygen in red blood cells, it’s also present in every cell in your body because it has so many other jobs. It supports your immune system, helps make amino acids and it’s essential for metabolism. Men should consume 8 milligrams and women need 18 milligrams daily, but no one should consume more than 45 milligrams of iron in a day because it can become toxic. You’ll get 0.8 milligrams of iron in one small box of raisins, which is 10 percent of men’s and 5 percent of women’s daily recommended intake.
Potassium is able to carry electrical charges that cause muscle contraction and stimulate nerve impulses. It’s especially vital for your heart because potassium regulates the heart beat and also helps lower blood pressure by limiting the effect of sodium. Special structures in your body work constantly to maintain a strict concentration of potassium in the cells. These structures account for about 20 to 40 percent of your resting energy, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. The raisins in a 1.5-ounce box have 322 milligrams or 7 percent of the recommended daily intake of potassium.
- USDA Agricultural Research Service: Raisins, Seedless
- Linus Pauling Institute: Iron
- Linus Pauling Institute: Potassium
- American Heart Association: Potassium and High Blood Pressure
- Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition: Natural Versus Commercial Carbohydrate Supplementation and Endurance Running Performance
- Journal of Food Science: A Review of the Health Benefits of Raisins