GRAPES

 GRAPES

 Green, purple, white, or red, grapes overall are rich in nutrients and have great medicinal value to their sweet ample bunches. From helping your kidneys to curing a nasty migraine, learn the medicinal uses for grapes that we eat every day.

Grapes are awesome for asthma, as the assimilatory benefits of grapes make the lungs more moist, opening bronchial tubes and making it far easier to breathe overall. Also helpful for aiding in getting over a cold or cough due to blocked airways, and helps to get rid of and break up mucous in the body while you are sick. Drinking grape juice can open your airways and help improve your lung function either due to asthma-related issues of a cough or cold.

Grapes help the heart out as well, by raising the nitric oxide levels in the blood. This helps to prevent blood clots, which keeps heart attacks and strokes at bay. Furthermore, the antioxidants in grapes help prevent the oxidation of bad cholesterol, keeping it from clogging the arteries to the heart and keeping the heart healthier overall.

For migraines, grapes work with their powerful concentration of potassium and magnesium, which helps to relax the muscles of the body and boost energy fighting immunity to ward off a migraine. If fresh grape juice is drunk at the onset of a migraine, it will fade much more quickly.

Grapes contain flavonoids which help to reduce environmental and societal effects of aging. If you want to look younger, longer, drink grape juice or pop a bunch in your mouth as part of your regular diet to keep you healthy, get those nasty free radicals out of your body, and increase your health overall. Plus, grapes are just plain tasty

Medicinal properties of Grape

Red grapes and red wine contain levels of flavonoids which have antioxidant properties and help to reduce the risk for cancer and heart disease. These flavonoids also have an anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effect. Red grape leaves have been traditionally used to treat diarrhea, heavy menstrual bleeding and uterine hemorrhage.

Heart disease
Several epidemiological studies have shown that moderate consumption of red wine has cardioprotective properties and can decrease coronary heart disease mortality. Studies have shown that quercetin and other polyphenols in wine prevent oxidation. Frankel et al showed in the study entitled "Inhibition in vitro of oxidation of human low density lipoproteins by phenolic compounds in wine" published in Lancet (1993, 39:1743-1748) that red wine protects low density lipoproteins from oxidation. The flavonoids ellagic acid and resveratrol have been shown to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Grape seed proanthocyanidins may have therapeutic potential in the prevention and treatment of vascular complications in diabetic patients.

Anti-cancer
Grape contains phenolic compounds, including resveratrol, flavon-3-ols, caffeic acid, ellagic acid and quercetin. Phenolic compounds have anticancer properties and have been correlated with the inhibition of various cancers, including colon, esophagus, lung, liver, mammary and skin cancers. Resveratrol can inhibit cancer formation in different ways: resveratrol stops DNA damage, improves DNA repair, slows down tumor growth and slows cell transformation from normal to cancerous. Jang et al demonstrated in his study "Cancer chemopreventive activity of resveratrol, a natural product derived from grapes" published in Science (1997, 275:218-220) that resveratrol has cancer chemopreventive activity in different stages of carcinogenesis. Resveratrol was found to act as an antioxidant and antimutagen and to induce phase II drug-metabolizing enzymes; it mediated anti-inflammatory effects and inhibited cyclooxygenase and hydroperoxidase functions. Not only red grape juice but grape seeds are rich in anticancer phytochemicals.

Antioxidant activity
Grape phenolics such as catechins, flavonols, anthocyanins and tannins have strong antioxidant activity and help to prevent oxidative damage. Grape antioxidants help to prevent the risk of several chronic and age related diseases including dementia, cancer, heart disease and cataracts.

Antibacterial and antiviral activity
A study by Pisha et al, entitled "Fruits and vegetables containing compounds that demonstrate pharmacological activity in humans" and published in Economic and Medicinal Plant Research (1994, 6:189-233), showed that grape phenolics possess antibacterial and antiviral activities. The following phytochemicals in grape have weak antibacterial activity: hydroxybenzoic acid, salicylic acid, gallic acid and protocatechuic acid. Chlorogenic acid and epicatechin have shown antiviral activity against some viruses.

Other facts: The grape originates from the Mediterranean regions from where it was introduced to all temperate regions. About 80 percent of grapes are used for the production of wine, mainly in France, Spain, California, South Africa, Chili and Argentina. Grapes are eaten as such or transformed into juice or wine. Grape pomace is the left-over product of wine production and contains considerable amounts of anthocyanins, which can be extracted.