Grape Juice

Grape Juice
Lower cholesterol, Lower high blood pressure, Decrease the risk of heart disease

Researchers might never have found health benefits of grape juice and wine, had it not been for the hearth-healthy people from the country that also brought us berets, Brigitte Bardot, and croissants.

A few years back, scientists discovered a phenomenon that they called “French Paradox”. Specifically, they found that while the French ate almost four times as much butter and three times as much lard, had high cholesterol and blood pressure, and smocked just as much as Japanese, they fell victim to heart attach 3 ½ times less often.

At least part of the French secret to heart health, researchers believe, is red wine and purple grape juice, which contains compounds called flavonoids. These compounds have been linked to lower rates of hearth disease.

As it turns out, grape juice contains same flavonoids that are found in wine. Studies suggests that these compounds help lower cholesterol, prevent cholesterol from sticking to artery walls, and keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming dangerous cloths in the bloodstream.

Scientists are still unraveling the mysteries of how grape juice helps protect against hearth disease, but they do know that it appears to help in more than one way.

The flavonoids in grape juice are among the most powerful antioxidants around – may be even better than vitamins C or E. In your body, they help prevent low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol from oxidizing – the process that enables cholesterol to stick to artery walls and create blockage.

Keeping LDL cholesterol in check is a good start against hearth disease. But you also need to keep platelets, compounds in blood that cause it to clot, from sticking together unnecessarily. The flavonoids in grape juice do that too. A study at the University of Wisconsin (coronary thrombosis laboratory) found that when grape juice was given to a number of test subjects, abnormal clotting was scientifically reduced. So drinking grape juice gives two benefits for the price of one.

Actually, it’s more than two. Grape juice is also a fair source of potassium, with 8 ounces providing 334 milligrams, 10% of the Daily Value. This is important because potassium helps control high blood pressure and protects against stroke.

All of a grape’s protective flavonoids are in the “must”, a chunky mixture of grape skins, pulp, seeds, and stems that is used to make wine and grape juice. When must is fermented to make wine, a lot of flavonoids are drawn into liquid. Since grape juice isn’t fermented, you get only flavonoids that are drawn into the juice during processing stages. The compounds that end up in the drink are still pretty strong...

Since flavonoids are what give juice its reach purple hue, if you’re looking for the grape juice with most flavonoids, pick the darkest variety.

Grape drink is nothing but a watered-down imitation of the original article. Nutritionally, it doesn’t compare. So when you want the benefits of grape juice, be sure to buy the real thing. Visit your local health-food store and discover many health benefitting varieties of grape juice. Try juice made from Muscat, Tinta, Roriz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Concord, Grenache, Merlot, Shiraz or any of your locally grown dark grapes.