Raisins Nutrition Information

Raisins nutrition information

When most fruits are dried, they keep their same name, but not the grape. The dried form of the grape, revered throughout history, has its own unique name: the raisin.

Raisins are one of the best antioxidants available from a natural fruit and or vegetable source.

Raisins are made from dehydrating grapes in a process that either involves the heat of the sun or a mechanical process of oven drying. Among the most popular types of raisins are Sultana, Malaga, Monukka, Zante Currant, Muscat and Thompson seedless. The size of small pebbles, raisins have wrinkled skins surrounding chewy flesh that tastes like a burst of sugary sweetness. While the colors of raisins vary, they are generally a deep brown color, oftentimes with hints of a purple hue.

Raisins have been the object of phytonutrient research primarily for their unique phenol content, but these delicious dried grapes are also one of the top sources of the trace mineral, boron, in the U.S. diet.

Antioxidant Protection from Phenols

The phenols found in fruit have repeatedly been shown to have antioxidant activity and to help prevent oxygen-based damage to cells in the body. The total antioxidant activity of many fruits and vegetables has been found to be exactly parallel to their total phenol content, and raisins nutrition information shows that raisins take their place in this list right alongside prunes and apricots as an antioxidant-rich fruit. The flavonols (one type of phenol belonging to the flavonoid family) in raisins appear to be least affected by the grape-drying process, but raisins do contain fewer phenols than grapes since many of grape's phenols are largely lost in the conversion of grapes to raisins. These phenols include the hydroxycinnamics (caftaric and coutaric acids), procyanidins, and flavan-3-ols.

Boron for Better Bone Health

Although not often spotlighted in public health recommendations, boron is a mineral that is critical to our health, and has been of special interest in women in relationship to bone health and osteoporosis (bone softening). Boron is a trace mineral required to convert estrogen and vitamin D to their most active forms (17-beta-estradiol and 1,25-(OH)2D3 respectively). Estrogen levels drop after menopause causing osteoclasts to become more sensitive to parathyroid hormone, which signals them to break down bone. Studies have shown that boron provides protection against osteoporosis and reproduces many of the positive effects of estrogen therapy in postmenopausal women. Raisins nutrition studies show that raisins are among the top 50 contributors to total dietary boron in the U.S. diet.

Protection against Macular Degeneration

In the grape industry there are ways in which chemicals are used that are non-traditional in nature but may have an effect on health. In the process of trying to make grapes large for the fresh market grapes are sprayed with a chemical called giberelec acid to make them hold water. It is opposite of a diuretic and the cells of the grapes are gorged with water which increases its total weight making it more valuable. The normal size of a Thompson seedless grape is much smaller and all grapes have the same number of total cells. So larger Thompson seedless grapes are just normal grapes loaded with more water. When the grapes are determined from the start that they are going to be dried and not sold in the produce market as fresh there is no reason to use the acid because it just makes the drying process more costly. We have no evidence that the giberelec acid has any short term or long term effect on us as humans but being on the cautious side we have chosen to not take a chance.

The grapes being dried do not need to be perfect and they are harvested at a later stage when they contain much more natural sugar. Grapes do not need to be uniform in color or meet the same strict standards as fresh market grapes. The real concern is that they are clean and free from contaminants that might cause health problems.

We trust that this raisins nutrition information has been useful for you.

Raisins are one of the fruit flavor options for Amaranth Delight, Amaranth Crunch, and Amaranth Pro.

Return from Raisins Nutrition Information to VitalLife Products