Earth Essences.Com

Life Live Longevity

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive
 

 african art107african art107african art107african art107african art107african art107african art107african art107african art107african art107african art107african art107african art107african art107  

Why the experts love grape, nutritional benefits and serving size guidelines

Grape image

Grape image© Provided by Getty Images

Perspective from Iyanuoluwa Oyetunji

Benefits

  • Grape may reduce inflammation and prevent a wide range of chronic diseases. The fruits are loaded with several antioxidants including polyphenols such as resveratrol. Other antioxidant nutrients present in grapes include vitamin C, beta-carotene.
  • Grapes may contribute to cardiovascular health by reducing the risks of hypertension. The fruit has about 6% of recommended daily value of potassium per cup.

Quantity Recommendation

  • A serving of grapes is a cup according to the food guide pyramid. About two to four servings of fruits should be consumed per day. It is recommended to diversify one's fruit intake.

 

Perspective from Julia Rocha

 Grapes are good for heart health, as it contains potassium, a mineral that acts to control blood pressure, as it neutralizes sodium. Low potassium intake has been linked to and increased risk of hypertension, heart disease and stroke.

  • The presence of resveratrol in the skin of purple grapes controls the level of LDL the bad cholesterol, and favors HDL, the good cholesterol. Therefore, it reduces the risk of atherosclerosis, which is the accumulation of fat in the arteries, and protects the heart from disease.
  • Despite being a fruit with a lot of sugar, grapes have a low glycemic index and help lower the amount of sugar in the blood. That is because resveratrol increases insulin sensitivity, which improves the body's ability to use glucose, so grapes can be beneficial for people with diabetes
  • Grapes are good for the eyes because they contain the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, these compounds reduce oxidative stress and the damage that sunlight causes to the retina. And resveratrol also protects against diseases that cause blindness like glaucoma (elevated intraocular pressure), cataracts (loss of clarity of the lens) and eye diseases caused by diabetes like retinopathy.

Quantity Recommendation

  • My recommendation is to consume 10 grapes or a small bunch a day. The ideal is, whenever possible, to give preference to fresh fruit, but whole grape juice is also recommended, as it is healthy and preserves a good part of the fruit's nutrients.

Reference: Microsoft Health : Iyanuoluwa Oyetunji, Master of Science in Medicine, specialization in Human Nutrition and Julia Rocha, Bachelor in Nutrition

No thoughts on “Why the experts love grape, nutritional benefits and serving size guidelines”

News Feed Display

BBC News - Africa

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential for the operation of the site, while others help us to improve this site and the user experience (tracking cookies). You can decide for yourself whether you want to allow cookies or not. Please note that if you reject them, you may not be able to use all the functionalities of the site.

Ok
X

Right Click

No right click