People have been planting grapes for making wine as a food item for thousands of years. They are mentioned in many ancient manuscripts, including both the old and new testament. There are over a 100 varieties of grapes. Around half of them are sent to the markets to be purchased for eating, while the other half are used in wine making. People all over the world enjoy this small, but sweet and tasty fruit. Most of them just eat grapes because they taste so great, but more and more health conscience individuals are eating them because they have found out about grapes health benefits.

One of the main things grapes and grape products such as juice or wine can do for you is to reduce your risk of heart disease. Grapes have always been known for many other health giving properties, but this amazing attribute has been brought to light just in the last couple of decades.

During the 80s a major study was being done on heart disease. During this study it was found that people who lived in France had less heart related illnesses than any other people in the world. The only reason researchers were able to come up with was that most of the inhabitants of France drank red wine with their meals. Once this important discover was made, the public got excited and over 300 other studies were made to verify this fact and the reason behind it.

During these studies of grapes health benefits for the heart, it was found that this small fruit was a powerhouse of nutrients that were not only good for heart disease but for many other serious illnesses. Also, be sure and don't forgot the fantastic juicing benefits that are a great source of nutrients in almost all fruit, including grapes.

One thing grapes do to help prevent heart trouble is to aid the body in getting rid of its cholesterol content. There is a compound in grapes called saponin, that binds with much of the cholesterol content in food. This substance is eliminated out of the body, carrying with it the harmful cholesterol. There is also a nutrient in grapes called polyphenols. This is an antioxidant that aids in the prevention of the accumulation of oxidized cholesterol in the body. There are a few other nutrients that were found to be helpful as well. One interesting fact found while doing these heart related studies, was that the darker red grapes seem to offer the most potential.

Another thing grapes can do for your body is to aid in relief of constipation. They contain a quantity of cellulose, organic acid and sugar, all of which when combined could put grapes in the category of a laxative food. If grapes or grape juice is a part of your daily diet, you will very seldom if ever have constipation problems.

Grapes health benefits are so broad it is impossible to put them all in one article, however, here is a list of medical conditions that grapes have been found to help in one form or another: kidney disorders, cataracts, Alzheimer's disease, fatigue, asthma and other breathing disorders, migraines and indigestion. Many of these conditions are helped through the consumption of grapes, grape juice or grape red wine, but some of them are aided by a powerful extract make from the seeds of the grape. This extract is very high in substances known to be of medical value such as antioxidants and procyanidin, just to name a couple. Procyanidin is thought to aid in the prevention of premature aging.

I will need to do other articles in order to give a more in depth view into the large number of grapes health benefits, but that will be for another time. If you would like, bookmark our site as we will be adding valuable information weekly on the health benefits of almost every fruit you can think of. We plan on being the most informative fruit site on the internet. 9/12/2010