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by Source: www.journalstar.com and www.healthwell.com
January 1, 1999
The French Paradox, a study that showed drinking moderate amounts of red wine could lower heart disease, gave many a healthy reason to indulge in what may have before been a guilty pleasure. But what if you'd like all those heart-healthy benefits but can't or choose not to drink the alcoholic beverage? Fill that goblet with grape juice instead! John Dr. Folts, professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, conducted a study to test the effects of red wine without the alcohol (A.K.A. grape juice). The key is in the flavonoids - micronutrients found in plants that act as blood thinners and antioxidants that protect blood cells from disease. It's the flavonoids in dark grape juice - not the alcohol in the wine - that produce the benefits.
Dr. Folts says that for 90 percent of the population, risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, and gender (heart disease is more common among males until women reach menopause, when the rates are equal) determine heart disease likelihood. The other 10 percent of the population is divided between those who are genetically blessed and simply will not develop heart disease - and those who are genetically doomed no matter what they do. Those dramatic extremes aside, "It's sort of an insidious disease that's going to get almost all of us," Folts says. Enter the flavonoid - a warrior against this looming menace. What happens is a slow deterioration of the cells that make up the inner lining of blood vessels. These are the cells that are most exposed to pollutants in the blood and when they become damaged they shed, possibly causing blood clots or mutating into cancers. Furthermore, these discarded cells are exposed to free radicals, which are oxygen byproducts that can further damage cells and tissue. "You don't want those cells circulating or shedding," says Folts. Instead, these cells should act as a protective coating on the cell walls. Flavonoids help out by "gobbling up" free radicals and blocking the blood platelet activity that can lead to clotting. It was discovered that drinking 10 to 15 ounces of grape juice daily (as opposed to 8 to 12 ounces of red wine) would produce the flavonoid-induced protection.
So what if you don't like grape juice? You can find flavonoids in most fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. They occur in high concentrations in the juice and peel of citrus fruits, and can also be found in onions, papaya, broccoli, apricots, greens, persimmons, green tea, soy products, cherries and grains, especially buckwheat. Georgia Kostas, nutrition director for the Cooper Clinic in Dallas advises to "go for color. Color is so much easier to remember than individual vegetables. It's part of an overall message of eating at least five or more fruits and vegetables a day, but we want them to eat very colorful (produce) for the flavonoids and other phytochemical [plant-produced compounds that protect themselves against viruses and bacteria] benefits."
For those who find it difficult to incorporate multiple fruit and vegetable servings into their diet each day, the grape juice alternative may be the answer. Best of all, for those who have long heard of the benefits of red wine but shy away from alcohol, reports of grape juice's medicinal advantage are a tall, cool drink of good news.
Material for this article taken from www.journalstar.com and www.healthwell.com.
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