Dr. Mercola June 07 2008 91,323 views
A study on juices made from apples or purple grapes showed that both the juices and the fruits themselves can help prevent clogged arteries.
Researchers fed hamsters fruit and juice along with a fatty diet. The animals who were fed grape juice had the lowest risk of developing artery problems. The benefits came from the fruits’ high levels of phenols, a potent antioxidant. Antioxidants in various foods are already known to be beneficial to heart health. In this case, the team wanted to see how juicing affected the phenol content, because most studies have looked at raw fruit.
The hamsters were given an amount of fruit equivalent to three apples, or three bunches of grapes for a human weighing 154 pounds (70 kg), and drank the equivalent of four glasses of juice daily.
Compared to the control group that was given water, those given fruit or fruit juice experienced several health benefits, including:
Purple grape juice was the most potent, followed by purple grapes, apple juice, and apples. Other antioxidants, such as vitamin C and carotenoids may also contribute to their overall effect.
The health benefits of both grapes and apples have been studied and confirmed many times over, however, I want to remind you that too much fruit juice is not good for anyone, simply because the juice is so high in sugar and can cause problems for many if consumed in high quantities.
How Do You Know If You Have to Restrict Fruits?
I would conservatively estimate that 75 percent of the population needs to restrict fruit intake. Anyone with high insulin levels needs to be careful. You can measure your fasting insulin level, or if you have any of the following problems it is highly likely you have insulin resistance syndrome:
Additionally, protein nutritional types need to be careful about eating too much fruit.
While whole fruits should be consumed cautiously if you have the above conditions, freshly squeezed fruit juice has about eight full teaspoons of sugar per eight-ounce glass so you need to be extra cautious with juice. . Drinking your calories is a surefire way to increase your risk of both diabetes and obesity. When the fruit is intact and whole, on the other hand, its fiber will moderate the release of fructose into your bloodstream and your insulin release.
Commercial pasteurized juices sweetened with added sugar or artificial sweeteners should be avoided altogether as they have little or no redeeming nutritional value whatsoever.
Stick With Whole Fruit for Optimal Health Benefits
To a large extent, whether or not fruits are good for you depends on several factors including:
If you are overweight, have diabetes or high blood pressure you are best off avoiding fruits or limiting them to a small handful of berries a day. If you are currently healthy, a small amount of fruit should not be a problem as long as you follow the guidelines of your nutritional type.
For example, if you’re a protein type, fruits are generally not beneficial for you with the exception of coconut, which has a higher fat content that is beneficial for protein types.
On the other hand, carbohydrate types tend to fare well with fruit and can safely consume moderate amounts. This is an important distinction, and all nutritional types should try to eat primarily the specific fruits that are best for their unique biochemistry.
Some of the best fruits to eat are small berries. They are even better if you can use a high speed blender like a Vita Mixer, which pulverizes the seeds and releases the stored antioxidants, polyphenolic bioflavonoids, that are stored there. Most people don’t realize that most of the healthy constituents of the fruit are stored in the skin and the seeds.
Other Sources of Phenols
There are also other sources of phenols that can give you the same heart healthy benefits, without the added sugar boost.
Virgin olive oil, for example, is high in antioxidants, particularly phenols, and can easily be used in cooking and drizzled on salads. Most people do quite well with it as it does not upset the critical omega 6:3 ratio.
And remember, both fruits and vegetables contain a myriad of compounds, in addition to antioxidants and vitamin C, which have been linked with heart health, including:
Eating plenty of leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale and broccoli, can offer similar heart-healthy benefits as grapes and apples, without disrupting your insulin levels in the process.
I had a senior age lady who ran her families local farmers market store tell me that the seedless watermelons do not raise her husbands blood sugar like the seeded kind. I figure they are GM but if anyone has been avoiding watermelon because of their sugar spike, they may want the info.
Weaver, I totally agree. Often in such studies you'll find that they were done with junk to start with (i.e. not organic, added sugar, pasteurized to death, etc, you get the picture). And then these so-called scientists come to conclusions that 'fruit juice' is bad for you. And remain silent about the fact that the mixture they called fruit juice has nothing that even remotely resembles real fruit juice. How could it??
Ah, but I am preaching to the choir here...
Pesticides used on grapes often contain large amounts of fluoride, which ends up in the fruit and its juice. Try to find grapes grown without using pesticides to avoid the fluoride.
Fresh fruit is a staple of the Mediterranean Diet, which has been proven to be the best way to eat healthfully. Stay away from anything that claims to be fruit, but is really a processed product that might contain a trace of real fruit. Go to its purest form, an organic apple, red globe grapes (with seeds, please!!) A pear, watermelon. In its most natural form, the sugar, through the beauty of the world, has a way of regulating itself. It when we think too much about it and start making eating too complicated, that when the haze of too much information becomes a problem. If you’d like a FREE workout plan and the motivation to start and stay with it, please send me an email through my website.
www.GrecoRomanWellness.com
Stay active, stay fit, stay alive!!!
Ray Salomone
Personal Trainer and Wellness Crusader
Greco,
I couldn't agree more!! "Stay active, stay fit, stay alive!" For many years I have lived by the "Get Up And Move" mantra (GUAM). I'm 45 and when people ask "What diet plan/fitness plan do you use, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, South Beach?", I reply that I use the "GUAM" method. Typically their eyes light up and they say, "OH, I've never heard of it, what's it about and where do I find the plan?" I calmly reply, "It's called GET UP AND MOVE." I of course combine my physical activity with a healthy diet, using a few tips from Dr. M as well as the Price-Pottinger Foundation. Oh, and the fruit thing...yeah, I eat fruit in moderation. Mostly apples, berries, and occasionally some melon, but I NEVER drink fruit juice. I also agree that our culture tends to make eating way too complicated. Eat food in its simplest, natural form and ones health can be greatly improved.
I agree. Fruits agree with me and I happen to believe that they are natures natural deserts/sweets. Plus they are antioxident and vitamin powerhouses!! I also see nothing wrong with eating fruit 'til you bust' during their season. This is how the old farmers lived. When apples were in season, you ate a LOT of apples. They are at their peak vitamin/antioxd. content then. I can't subscribe to the idea that you are supposed to avoid too many fruits. But I definately am not a protein type so I could not speak for them. All I know is I feel good and I eat a LOT of fruit.
My father used to travel in the days when you didn't have the variety that you have in stores now year round and he would always bring fruit back. It was the BEST fruit ever!!
I do miss the flavor that fruit used to have back then.
Regardless of what the article was about and what you believe, insulting someone and swearing is a poor way of getting your message across. That behaviour only serves to take away from the message you are trying to get across.