Do Raisins Really Control Nighttime Urination – Nocturia?

For years now, we have been hearing from readers that munching a small handful of raisins before brushing the teeth at bedtime can help limit nocturia. That’s the fancy medical term for having to get up to pee overnight. Unfortunately, we have not found any studies of this phenomenon. However, enough people have offered their testimonials that we believe some people benefit some of the time. It would be great to understand why and how.

How Do Raisins Help Nocturia?

Q. I’m a retired physician and I just found your website. It is excellent! I was especially interested in the article about using raisins to avoid getting up multiple times at night to use the bathroom. Do you know the reason(s) why raisins could help nocturia?

A. Thank you for visiting www.PeoplesPharmacy.com and giving us feedback. Nocturia is having to get up to urinate multiple times at night. As far as we can tell, no one has conducted any research on the raisin remedy for this purpose. We have no idea why it seems to help some people reduce their number of bathroom visits.

One reader wrote:

“I had been having great difficulty getting up two to three times each night to urinate. I read your article about raisins, so I decided to give this remedy a try. Amazingly, I was able to get a good night’s rest without having to get up at night to go pee.

“Also, I’ve been eating raisins throughout the day because I was urinating too frequently during the day. I eat one or two raisins about every other hour, and I have drastically cut down going to the bathroom.”

We wish we had some idea how raisins might affect the kidneys and/or bladder. We don’t. Evidence shows that raisins cause kidney damage in dogs, but that clearly doesn’t seem to be a problem for humans. Will we ever find out if or how raisins help us go all night without getting up to pee? If we learn, we’ll let you know. Stay tuned.

Are Golden Raisins Better Than Dark Ones?

Q. I would like to know if it matters whether you use dark raisins or golden raisins before bed to help reduce nighttime trips to the bathroom?

A. No one has done a study of the “raisin remedy” for nocturia (frequent awakening to urinate at night) so we cannot tell you whether golden raisins would work as well as regular black raisins. We first heard about this approach in the spring of 2014.

The Original Raisin Story about Nocturia:

A visitor to this website wrote to say that he normally had to get up several times at night to pee. Then he noticed:

“that when I eat raisins just before I go to bed, I don’t need to get up as often, if at all. Is there anything in raisins that might cause a decrease in urine production?”

We answered that we could find no scientific support for his approach to treat nocturia, but we invited other visitors to share their experience with this remedy. Here are some of the responses we have received:

Marty in Florida shared this story:

“I experience nocturia every 1.5 to 2 hours every night; also in the daytime. I read about raisins about three weeks ago. It works! Day or night I need to void about every three and a half to four hours! I think it relaxes a ‘touchy’ bladder.”

Armond in NC says that raisins do work for nocturia:

“Raisins work. I take two tsp or 30 raisins before bed. I wake up the same time every night twice only to urinate. It used to be 5-6 times a night depending on what I had for dinner. I eat mostly vegetables and because they have so much water, I had to go more often. Raisins changed that. It does work.”

Roy in New Zealand says:

“Yes it does work, well it does for me. I am 84. For many years I had to get up every hour to two hours . Now I take two spoons of raisins I don’t count them with two Paracetamols (acetaminophen). I now can get at least 6 hours sleep . If I wish I do the same again and go on to another four hours. I told my Doctor not to laugh he said I do not laugh at anything that works.”

Bell in Ireland:

“Well I tried raisins before going to bed and I am thrilled with the outcome. I was getting up 5 times a night. The first night I tried raisins I got up 2 times and the second (last) night I only got up once. Thank you who ever thought of RAISINS.”

Daniel has concerns about your teeth:

“Raisins are apt to get stuck between teeth and cause decay. Treating this decay necessitates the removal of a considerable part of the affected tooth. So, if this practice is followed, meticulous cleaning using floss, a Waterpik, and/or inter-dental brushes (proxabrush) is recommended after eating the raisins.”

Janet offers:

“Does cooking (slow simmer) reduce the effect of the raisins? They certainly do stick in your teeth, although it’s a good practice to brush before sleep anyway. How about simmered and then added to yogurt? I have a banana and yogurt before bed.”

In truth, raisins against nocturia might be a pure placebo effect, though we’re not sure how that would prevent people from waking up to pee. Nevertheless, it seems like a reasonable remedy given two caveats: 1) raisins have calories and a daily handful could put on weight and 2) anyone who tries this should brush teeth before going to bed to prevent the problem Daniel presents above.

Share your own strategy for dealing with nocturia below in the comment section. If you have tried raisins, please let us know whether they work.