Soda, usually a source of empty calories, becomes a heart-friendly drink if you make your own by combining grape juice and carbonated water. Antioxidants in grape juice may help reduce your low-density lipoprotein – LDL or “bad cholesterol -- and the water will keep you hydrated and help offset sodium in your diet.
Antioxidants
If you eat grapes or drink grape juice – or red wine – you add polyphenols to your diet. Polyphenols, a type of antioxidant, help lower LDL cholesterol and reduce inflammation in your arteries, according to an article in the November 2008 edition of “Nutrition Research.” Polyphenols in grape juice, including resveratrol, flavonoids and phenolic acids, may help protect you against cardiovascular disease, according to lead author W.R. Leifert, of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia.
Grape Juice and "Good" Cholesterol
Drinking red grape juice may also help improve your levels of high-density lipoprotein, the “good” cholesterol that helps pull LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, a type of artery-clogging fat, out of your bloodstream. M.H. Khadem-Ansari, a researcher at Urmia University of Medical Sciences in Iran, led a study to test the effects of drinking red grape juice. Twenty-six healthy males added 150 milliliters of red grape juice to their diets for one month. At the end of the study, all participants realized a significant improve in the HDL levels, according to an article in "Open Biochemistry Journal” in December 2010.
Calories
The 150 milliliters of grape juice consumed in the Iran study amounted to 5 ounces. If you added 5 ounces of grape juice and an equal amount of soda water, you would create a nutrient-rich soda that contained 95 calories, including 2.3 grams of fructose. The calories could add up, so watch your consumption of grape juice and soda water. If you moderate your intake, you could improve your HDL and LDL cholesterol levels without harming your triglycerides. Your body converts sugar to triglycerides, so the American Heart Association recommends you limit fructose consumption to 50 grams to 100 grams daily.
Considerations
Although drinking grape juice and soda water may help improve your cholesterol, no single food or beverage will fully protect you against heart attacks and strokes. Follow a diet that reduces saturated fat, found mainly in animal products, and trans fat, found primarily in margarine and shortening. Limit the amount of added sugar in your diet and, if you drink, limit consumption to one or two drinks daily. If you smoke, stop. If you don't exercise, start, and include about 30 minutes of moderate exercise in your daily routine.
References
- “Nutrition Research”; Cardioprotective Actions of Grape Polyphenols; W.R. Leifert and M.Y Abeywardena; November 2008
- "Circulation"; Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Disease A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association; Michael Miller, et al.; April 2011
- “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. H. Khadem Ansari, et al; December 2010
- United States Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database
- MayoClinic.com; High Cholesterol -- Lifestyle and Home Remedies; June 1, 2011
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