Grapes are hardy, vine-growing fruiting plants with varieties that are well-adapted to a wide range of climates and environmental conditions. The characteristics that enable grapes to thrive in challenging environments give them impart health-promoting effects to you when you consume them. Grape juice provides a host of benefits, including some related to inhibiting and removing arterial plaque, also known as atherosclerosis.
Antioxidants
Flavonoid antioxidants in purple grape juice prevent oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" form of cholesterol, one of the initiating processes of atherosclerotic plaque formation. Daily consumption of purple grape juice for as little 14 days may lower your cholesterol and improve your blood flow. However, eight ounces of grape juice also provides about 155 calories from sugar and may elevate your blood sugar and triglyceride levels. If you are diabetic or insulin-resistant, talk to your doctor before using grape juice to lower your cholesterol levels.
Blood Thinning
Purple grape juice may be a better blood thinner than aspirin, according to nutritionist Phyllis Balch, author of the book "Prescription for Dietary Wellness." Inhibiting blood clotting also inhibits atherosclerosis and allows your body's natural healing mechanisms to begin removing existing plaque. However, you'll need to drink three times as much grape juice as red wine to derive a similar blood-thinning effect. The anti-clotting benefit you get from two glasses of red wine requires about six glasses of purple grape juice.
Homocysteine
Grape juice drinkers have lower levels of homocysteine, an inflammatory molecule associated with atherosclerosis, according to a 2010 study conducted at Urmia University in Iran. In the study, participants, all males aged 25 to 60, drank 150 mL of red grape juice twice per day for four weeks. Results showed significantly lower homocysteine levels at the end of the study, implying decreased risk of atherosclerotic plaque formation by reducing inflammation.
Increasing HDL
Your levels of high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, increase when you drink grape juice, according to cardiologist Gabriel A. Adelmann. HDL is referred to as the "good" form of cholesterol because it brings LDL cholesterol back to the liver for recycling, effectively lowering your levels of circulating LDL and decreasing your risk for developing atherosclerosis. Lower LDL levels ensure that new plaque will not form, and encourage the process of plaque removal.
References
- "Cholesterol Cures (revised): Featuring the Breakthrough Menu Plan to Slash ... "; Editors of Rodale Health Books; 2007
- "The Encyclopedia of Nutrition and Good Health"; Robert A. Ronzio; 2003
- "The Open Biochemistry Journal"; Effects of Red Grape Juice Consumption on High Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol, Apolipoprotein Ai, Apolipoprotein B and Homocysteine in Healthy Human Volunteers; M.Khadem-Ansari, et al; 2010
- "Prescription for Dietary Wellness"; Phyllis A. Balch; 2003
- "Cardiology Essentials in Clinical Practice"; Gabriel A. Adelmann; 2010
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