Research results show that drinking grape juice has heart benefits for both healthy people and people with chronic diseases. The antioxidant efficacy of drinking Concord grape juice was compared with vitamin E for two weeks in healthy subjects. Research results indicate that flavonoids (a large class of phenolic compounds that include pigments such as anthocyanins) in Concord grape juice are potent antioxidants that may protect against oxidative stress and reduce the risk of free radical damage and chronic disease. Another study demonstrated that drinking grape juice for a week prevented LDL cholesterol from oxidizing. LDL oxidation is one of the keys to fat accumulation within blood vessel walls, leading to the development of atherosclerosis.
In addition to the antioxidant properties of grape juice, its effects on platelet function and its tendency to inhibit thrombosis in healthy individuals have also been studied. Drinking purple grape juice can reduce platelet aggregation. This inhibition of blood clot formation may be one of the mechanisms by which purple grape juice prevents artery blockage and cardiovascular disease. Another study compared the effects of daily consumption of commercial purple grape juice with orange or grapefruit juice on platelet activity. The results of this study suggest that drinking purple grape juice can reduce whole blood platelet aggregation. This reduction in platelet aggregation may help reduce risk factors associated with heart attacks. The positive effects of grape juice are attributed to its higher phenolic content compared to citrus juices. However, commercial purple grape juice and trans-resveratrol-rich purple grape juice were not as effective in reducing platelet aggregation as red or white wine, suggesting that alcohol, along with phenolic compounds, plays an important role in wine's health benefits effect.
for people with heart disease
The cardiovascular effects of grape juice have also been studied in subjects with heart disease. The effects of purple grape juice on patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) were studied. The findings suggest that short-term consumption of purple grape juice improves endothelial cell (the thin layer of cells that line the inner surface of blood vessels) function and reduces LDL oxidation, which may partially explain the cardiovascular health benefits of grape juice. When participants with CAD drank one of two doses of purple grape juice (4.0 or 8.0 ml juice/kg of body weight twice daily) for 56 days, both doses of grape juice showed similar effects on endothelial cells. beneficial effects. Cell function. They also observed that when vitamin E supplementation was combined with drinking grape juice, it provided no further benefits. Despite its relatively high carbohydrate content, drinking purple grape juice was shown to have no adverse effects on lipid and glucose metabolism in these patients with CAD. In individuals with CAD who take aspirin, purple grape juice does not provide additional antithrombotic effects but is able to inhibit inflammatory markers derived from platelets, another factor associated with CVD.
Some human studies have also investigated the protective effects of drinking grape juice against high blood pressure. In one study, 40 men with mild hypertension (systolic and diastolic blood pressure greater than 130 and 90 mm Hg, respectively) were asked to drink Concord grape juice or a placebo for eight weeks. Men who drank grape juice experienced a small but significant decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure by about 5%, while this effect was not seen in those who drank the placebo drink. Similar blood pressure-lowering effects of grape juice have been observed in healthy individuals. A similar study by the same group confirmed their earlier findings that grape juice had a blood pressure-lowering effect in men with mild hypertension. They also observed that grape juice had a beneficial effect on the antioxidant defense systems of these men. The blood pressure-lowering effects of grape juice have also been shown to benefit smokers.
Taken together, these studies suggest that drinking grape juice may have cardiovascular benefits not only for healthy individuals, but also for those with underlying chronic conditions.
