Good news for grape lovers. Eating polyphenol-rich grapes reduces inflammation and fat storage, and improves antioxidant defense that may help protect against organ damage associated with the progression of metabolic syndrome, according to research presented last month at the Experimental Biology conference in Boston.
Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System, studied the effects of a high fat, American-style diet both with added grapes and without grapes (the control diet) on the heart, liver, kidneys and fat tissue in obesity-prone rats. The grapes—a blend of red, green and black varieties—were provided as a freeze-dried grape powder and integrated into the animals’ diets for 90 days.
Results showed three months of a grape-enriched diet significantly reduced inflammatory markers throughout the body, but most significantly in the liver and in abdominal fat tissue. Consuming grapes also reduced liver, kidney and abdominal fat weight, compared with those consuming the control diet. Grape intake also increased markers of antioxidant defense, particularly in the liver and kidneys.
“Our study suggests that a grape-enriched diet may play a critical role in protecting against metabolic syndrome and the toll it takes on the body and its organs," said lead investigator E. Mitchell Seymour, Ph.D. “Both inflammation and oxidative stress play a role in cardiovascular disease progression and organ dysfunction in type 2 diabetes. Grape intake impacted both of these components in several tissues which is a very promising finding."
