Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Grapes reduce risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, U-M animal study shows
University of Michigan Health System ^ | Apr 26, 2010 | Unknown

Posted on 04/26/2010 6:40:41 AM PDT by decimon

Findings show grape consumption lowered blood pressure, improved heart function and reduced other risk factors for heart disease and metabolic syndrome

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Could eating grapes slow what's for many Americans a downhill sequence of high blood pressure and insulin resistance leading to heart disease and type 2 diabetes?

Scientists at the University of Michigan Health System are teasing out clues to the effect of grapes in reducing risk factors related to cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. The effect is thought to be due to phytochemicals -- naturally occurring antioxidants – that grapes contain.

Findings from a new animal study will be presented today at the Experimental Biology convention in Anaheim, Calif., and show encouraging results of a grape-enriched diet preventing risk factors for metabolic syndrome, a condition affecting an estimated 50 million Americans and is often a precursor to type 2 diabetes.

Researchers studied the effect of regular table grapes (a blend of green, red and black grapes) that were mixed into a powdered form and integrated into the diets of laboratory rats as part of a high-fat, American style diet. All of the rats used were from a research breed that is prone to being overweight.

They performed many comparisons between the rats consuming a grape-enriched diet and the control rats receiving no grape powder. Researchers added calories and sugars to the control group to balance the extra calories and sugars gained from getting the grape powder.

After three months, the rats that received the grape-enriched diet had lower blood pressure, better heart function, and reduced indicators of inflammation in the heart and the blood than rats who received no grape powder. Rats also had lower triglycerides and improved glucose tolerance.

The effects were seen even though the grape-fed animals had no change in body weight.

In all, researchers say the study demonstrates that a grape-enriched diet can have broad effects on the development of heart disease and metabolic syndrome and the risk factors that go along with it.

"The possible reasoning behind the lessening of metabolic syndrome is that the phytochemicals were active in protecting the heart cells from the damaging effects of metabolic syndrome. In the rats, inflammation of the heart and heart function was maintained far better," says Steven Bolling, M.D., heart surgeon at the U-M Cardiovascular Center and head of the U-M Cardioprotection Research Laboratory.

The researchers also looked for signs of inflammation, oxidative damage and other molecular indicators of cardiac stress. Again, the rats who consumed the grape powder had lower levels of these markers than rats who did not receive grapes.

There is no well-accepted way to diagnose metabolic syndrome which is really a cluster of characteristics: excess belly fat (for men, a waist measuring 40 inches or more and for women, a waist measuring 35 inches or more); high triglycerides which can lead to plague build-up in the artery walls; high blood pressure; reduced glucose tolerance; and elevated c-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation in the body.

Those with metabolic syndrome are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

But the U-M study suggests that it may be possible that grape consumption can change the downhill sequence that leads to heart disease by prolonging the time between when symptoms begin to occur and a time of diagnosis.

"Reducing these risk factors may delay the onset of diabetes or heart disease, or lessen the severity of the diseases," says E. Mitchell Seymour, Ph.D., lead researcher and manager of the U-M Cardioprotection Research Laboratory. "Ultimately it may lessen the health burden of these increasingly common conditions."

Rats were fed the same weight of food each day, with powered grapes making up 3 percent of the diet. Although the current study was supported in part by the California Table Grape Commission, which also supplied the grape powder, the researchers note that the commission played no role in the study's design, conduct, analysis or preparation of the presentation.

Research on grapes and other fruits containing high levels of antioxidant phytochemicals continues to show promise. U-M will further its research this summer when it begins a clinical trial to test the impact of grape product consumption on heart risk factors.

"Although there's not a particular direct correlation between this study and what humans should do, it's very interesting to postulate that a diet higher in phytochemical-rich fruits, such as grapes, may benefit humans," Bolling says.

Bolling says that people who want to lower their blood pressure, reduce their risk of diabetes or help with weakened hearts retain as much pumping power as possible should follow some tried-and-true advice to eat a healthy diet low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol, achieve a desirable weight and increase physical activity.

###

For more information on the U-M Cardioprotection Research Laboratory, please visit http://sitemaker.umich.edu/cardiac.phytomed/research.


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Science
KEYWORDS: grapes; healthcare; nutriceuticals; nutrition; resveratrol; supplements

1 posted on 04/26/2010 6:40:41 AM PDT by decimon
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: neverdem; DvdMom; grey_whiskers

More fie to ping.


2 posted on 04/26/2010 6:41:14 AM PDT by decimon
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: decimon

check out resveratrol


3 posted on 04/26/2010 6:42:49 AM PDT by silverleaf (Karl Marx was not one of the founding fathers ....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: decimon

I will skip the grapes and go straight for the wine.


4 posted on 04/26/2010 6:42:56 AM PDT by mlocher (USA is a sovereign nation)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: decimon

Drink more red wine!


5 posted on 04/26/2010 6:42:58 AM PDT by netmilsmom (I am Ilk)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: decimon
Grapes make a great summer snack.
Wash them and freeze them in small baggies.
They taste as good as most ice cream!

I have been doing this for over 20 years!

6 posted on 04/26/2010 6:44:46 AM PDT by HuntsvilleTxVeteran ((B.?) Hussein (Obama?Soetoro?Dunham?) Change America Will Die From.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: silverleaf

Yep.


7 posted on 04/26/2010 6:44:53 AM PDT by Obadiah (I can see November from my house!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: decimon

We Calabrians dance on the grapes in vats with our bare feet and our toes live longer and grow longer.


8 posted on 04/26/2010 6:49:22 AM PDT by bunkerhill7
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bunkerhill7
We Calabrians dance on the grapes in vats with our bare feet and our toes live longer and grow longer.

Hard heads. My father was from Reggio.

9 posted on 04/26/2010 7:08:59 AM PDT by decimon
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: bunkerhill7

10 posted on 04/26/2010 7:12:22 AM PDT by dfwgator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: decimon

Ripple sales to increase wineos live longer.


11 posted on 04/26/2010 7:20:53 AM PDT by Vaduz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: decimon
. Although the current study was supported in part by the California Table Grape Commission, which also supplied the grape powder, the researchers note that the commission played no role in the study's design, conduct, analysis or preparation of the presentation.

Who da thunk ?

We should lower our intake of carbohydrates.


12 posted on 04/26/2010 7:33:24 AM PDT by Uri’el-2012 (Psalm 119:174 I long for Your salvation, YHvH, Your law is my delight.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: netmilsmom
Drink more red wine!

Said in jest perhaps, but wine provides the same protective factors as the "grape powder" with none of the sugar. The downside is that you need to consume limited quantities, less than two glasses per day. Above this, the alcohol begins to have damaging effects that take away from the benefits.

This study is novel because it centers on grapes rather than wine, saying that the extra sugars can be subtracted from the diet and when they are not a factor, the grapes are incredibly beneficial.

This is old news but in our society, much of what is known has to be rediscovered to be "valid."

13 posted on 04/26/2010 7:57:41 AM PDT by dalight
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: decimon

"Have another vat of wine,dear"

14 posted on 04/26/2010 8:05:25 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Host The Beer Summit-->Win The Nobel Peace Prize!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dalight
Said in jest perhaps, but wine provides the same protective factors as the "grape powder" with none of the sugar.

I asked my Cardiologist recently about what I've heard about "the Mediterranean diet" and red wine being so beneficial.He said that there's some pretty convincing research suggesting that it's true.

15 posted on 04/26/2010 8:08:00 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Host The Beer Summit-->Win The Nobel Peace Prize!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: dalight

>>Drink more red wine!<<

No jest. Studies have shown that a glass of red wine with dinner is very beneficial.

It personally gives me headaches.


16 posted on 04/26/2010 8:18:13 AM PDT by netmilsmom (I am Ilk)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Gay State Conservative

Ha, ha, I love that!


17 posted on 04/26/2010 10:25:10 AM PDT by Pining_4_TX
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: netmilsmom
It personally gives me headaches.

Many people say they are allergic to the Sulfites that they use to preserve the color of the wine. But, in researching this.. I found an article that argues that:

"Finally, recent evidence points to the presence of histamines in some wine (especially red wine) as being the real cuprit for some people with sensitivities. For the average person, drinking extra water after drinking wine is usually sufficient to help clear their system of any negative influence.

18 posted on 04/26/2010 2:45:51 PM PDT by dalight
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: dalight

WOW!
Thanks!


19 posted on 04/26/2010 3:41:13 PM PDT by netmilsmom (I am Ilk)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson