A new source of polyphenols -- Concord grape juice -- has been discovered to greatly lower two markers of inflammation in patients with stable coronary artery disease and significantly increase their levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), according to a new study.
Scientists found great decreases in the production of a free radical, superoxide, and soluble CD40 ligand, a contributor in the development of atherosclerosis and vascular inflammation when patients drank Concord grape juice.
The increase in HDL levels also pleases researchers, as it gives patients another option, other than red wine, and opens the door to explore non-alcoholic grape products.
Scientists studied 20 patients with an average age of 63 who had been previously diagnosed with coronary artery disease and were on typical medications, including aspirin. Because patients were already taking aspirin, scientists said, the drop in platelet inhibition was significant when they were tested with grape juice.
EurekAlert November 16, 2004
It's encouraging to know there may be more yet-to-be-discovered alternatives to red wine that allow you to tap into the same health benefit: Resveratrol the cancer fighter that belongs to a family of compounds known as polyphenols, which are known to combat damaging free radicals.
As you know, I do not advocate drinking red wine at all because I'm convinced that alcohol itself is actually a poison and will unbalance your hormones. Juices are very problematic too for very sugary reasons, which is why I can't recommend Concord grape juice as any kind of safe alternative to red wine either. Fruit juice has about 8 full teaspoons of sugar (typically a fruit sugar called fructose) per 8-ounce glass, which is every bit as dangerous as regular table sugar since it will also increase your insulin levels.
I have researching the availability of grape pomace, a by-product of winemaking that is loaded with resveratrol and many other polyphenolic bioflavanoids and antioxidants. To the best of my knowledge it is not commercially available.
I am searching for a source, but if anyone knows where to find this please let us know by contacting our customer support team. In the meantime, you can purchase resveratrol supplements, but I believe it would not actually be as good as grape pomace that is likely to be less expensive and far more effective.
In the meantime, if you insist on drinking red wine, check the growing conditions of the grapes and how the wine is made. If the wine isn't made with organic grapes, it may contain no resveratrol at all.
Also be aware that consuming large amounts of wine or grapes, which have a lower concentration of antioxidants than wine, also increase your insulin levels and will eventually have a negative impact on your health. It may be beneficial to consume whole grape skins and pass up the meat of the grape, which has no resveratrol but a lot of extra fructose.
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