While the health benefits of red wine are recognized around the world by chefs, dietitians and health experts, not as much focus is placed on the healthful fruit from which red wine is derived -- red grapes, reports Mail Online health news. The fruit itself provides even stronger health benefits, including its ability to thwart diseases, such as cancer and heart disease, according to the Cancer on MSNBC.com website. Among the cardiovascular advantages, consuming red grapes in all forms helps to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants in red grapes and red grape products provide a variety of health benefits, including cardiovascular advantages. According to the Mayo Clinic's website, red grapes relax blood vessels and help decrease the risk of heart disease due to the natural antioxidants found in red grape skins and seeds. In particular, resveratrol found in dark purple or red grape juice is specially beneficial for cardiovascular health, says the Mayo Clinic, and drinking red grape juice or eating whole red grapes provides many of the purported heart-health advantages of red wine.
Red Wine
Wine made with red grapes provides more health benefits than wine made with white grapes because of the powerful antioxidant properties of red grapes. Further, red grapes along with the grape skins are fermented longer during wine making, and this lengthy fermentation process produces more of the antioxidant resveratrol, according to the Mayo Clinic. Additionally, consuming moderate amounts of alcohol may benefit your heart. Some important benefits include an increase in good cholesterol -- high-density lipoprotein, or HDL cholesterol; reduction of blood clot formation; and prevention of arterial damage due to bad cholesterol -- low-density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, says the Mayo Clinic.
Dark Grape Juice
You can reap many of the same red wine benefits from grape juice made with red or purple grapes, such as Concord grapes. Red or purple grape juices may also provide heart-health benefits, such as lowering the risk of blood clots and LDL cholesterol; preventing blood vessel damage; and reducing the risk for high blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic. The benefits of grape juice are especially helpful to those who want to avoid alcohol.
Red Grapes
Whole red grapes provide some of the same antioxidant and heart-health benefits as red wine or red/purple grape juice. However, whole grapes also provide dietary fiber, which benefits intestinal health, as well as cardiovascular health, according to the Mayo Clinic and the Harvard School of Public Health. The pectin --- a soluble type of fiber --- found in grapes directly helps reduce cholesterol, reports the Harvard Medical School.
Cholesterol
Besides protecting against cancer and heart disease, red grapes directly help to reduce cholesterol not only because of the pectin content but also due to antioxidants called flavonoids, including resveratrol. Both red grape juice and red wine especially help to elevate HDL cholesterol, or good cholesterol, and help keep arteries from clogging, reducing the risk for atherosclerosis, according to the Mayo Clinic.
References
- Mail Online: Red Grapes Are Wonder Cure For High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
- Cancer on MSNBC.com: 22 Disease-fighting Superfoods
- MayoClinic.com: Red Wine and Resveratrol Good for Your Heart?
- MayoClinic.com: Does Grape Juice Offer the Same Heart Benefits As Red Wine?
- Harvard School of Public Health: Fiber: Start Roughing It!
- Harvard Medical School: 11 Foods That Lower Cholesterol, From the Harvard Heart Letter
