Grapes being high in nutrient and antioxidant content offer various health benefits. They benefit the eye, heart, bones, and more. Grapes are of various colors, including green, red, black, yellow, and pink. They are available in multiple forms, too, from raisins to jellies to juice. Seeded and seedless varieties of grapes also exist. Grapes are a rich source of vitamin K and copper. Copper is involved in energy production whereas vitamin K is very important for blood clotting and healthy bones. Grapes also provide good amounts of B vitamins like thiamine, riboflavin, and B6. Grapes help boost heart health in several ways.
What Are the Benefits of Eating Grapes?
1. Helps Control Cholesterol- Grapes contain compounds that help protect against high cholesterol levels by decreasing cholesterol absorption. Eating red grapes everyday helps lower total and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
2. Helps Maintain Blood Pressure- Grapes are high in potassium, which is necessary for maintaining healthy blood pressure levels. Potassium helps lower blood pressure primarily by helping dilate your arteries and veins. It also helps excrete sodium and prevent the narrowing of arteries and veins that would otherwise increase blood pressure.
3. Rich in Antioxidants- Grapes are rich in several powerful antioxidants. The antioxidant compounds help repair the damage to cells caused by free radicals that cause oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is further associated with several chronic health conditions, including diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Anthocyanins contained in several grape varieties help prevent or treat brain and heart diseases.
4. Reduces the Risk of Cancer- Antioxidants in grapes also protect against certain types of cancer. Resveratrol is an antioxidant contained in grapes that helps by reducing inflammation and blocking the growth and spread of cancer cells in your body. Grapes also contain quercetin, anthocyanin, and catechin antioxidants all of which may have cancer-fighting effects.
5. Helps Improve Insulin levels- Compounds found in grapes help improve markers of insulin response. Eating grapes and grape supplements significantly decreases the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), a measure of insulin resistance. Grapes also contain a compound, resveratrol that improves your body’s ability to use insulin by decreasing insulin resistance, increasing insulin sensitivity, protecting your pancreas’s beta cells, which produce insulin, improving insulin production and increasing the number of glucose receptors on cell membranes
6. Provides Protection Against Eye Diseases- Plant compounds in grapes protect against common eye diseases. People who consume grapes on a regular basis show fewer signs of damage to the retina and have better retina function. Resveratrol in grapes protects retina cells in the human eye from ultraviolet A (UVA) light. Further, lowers the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common eye disease. Grapes also safeguard against glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic eye disease.
7. Improves Brain Health- Eating grapes helps boost memory and brain health. Eating grapes on a regular basis helps improve attention, memory, language, mood, learning, and memory-related skills. Grapes also protect against Alzheimer’s disease by reducing brain inflammation and removing amyloid-beta peptide, the accumulation of which has been linked to this condition.
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