Grapes Good in Wine & Juice

Filed in archive Wine Related Contests on February 2, 2007

Grapes are good no matter what. You didn't have to tell me that. As a little kid I used to love all kinds of juice, and that included the tart, tangy grape juice my mom would pour for me. Yum!

Now, an adult, I love the wonderful grape even still, though I prefer mine served in a wine glass. The old theory about grapes being good for you and especially those use in red wine is a never ending piece of new found when you surf for wine information, and now the news is even better because it seems grapes are good for you whether you drink wine or just grape juice.

From Study: grape juice as good for heart as red wine:

French scientists said on Wednesday grape juice seems to protect against heart disease as well as red wine, but without the buzz.

Researchers at the Universite Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg were examining the effect on the heart of Concord grape juice.

"Grape juice can have a similar effect (against heart disease) as red wine but without the alcohol. That is a very important message," said Dr Valerie Schini-Kerth, lead author of the study published in the journal Cardiovascular Research.

Red wine and certain types of grape juice have high levels of polyphenols, which block the production of a protein linked to cardiovascular disease -- the number one killer in many Western countries.

Heart and vascular problems develop when endothelial cells that make up blood vessels do not work properly.

Schini-Kerth and her team discovered polyphenols in Concord grape juice activate endothelial cells to produce nitric oxide which helps to protect against cardiovascular disease and to maintain healthy blood vessels and blood pressure.

Polyphenols work the same way in red wine and in grape juice.

"But not every grape juice has the beneficial effect. It has to have a high level of polyphenols," Schini-Kerth cautioned.

The amount of polyphenols in grape juice, as in red wine, depends on the type of grape used and how it is processed.

"We have information on more than 100 different kinds of wine and the amount of polyphenols. What we know is that the most protective ones have the highest levels of polyphenols. That is established," she said.

image from Welchs