Grapes can help lower blood pressure and improve heart function, new research has revealed.
Scientists examined the effects of red, green and purple grapes on rats that develop high blood pressure when fed a salty diet.
After 18 weeks, the rats that ate the grape-enriched diet had lower blood pressure, better heart function, reduced inflammation throughout their bodies, and fewer signs of heart muscle damage than rats that ate a salty diet but no grapes.
Researcher Mitchell Seymour of Michigan State University says the findings support the theory that grapes themselves have a direct impact on heart disease risk, "beyond the simple blood pressure lowering impact already known to come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables."
"The inevitable downhill sequence to hypertension and heart failure was changed by the addition of grapes to a high-salt diet," says research leader Dr Steven Bolling. The grapes comprised about 3% of the rats’ diet. For humans, that would be about nine servings, or 135 grapes, a day.
Source:NBR staff Thursday November 19 2009 - 12:25pm
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