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Healthy Aging -
Most people probably think of aging as a gradual
physical decline from middle age onward, eventually
matched by a slowing down of the ability to learn or
perform intellectually. |
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White Wine is Heart
Healthy, Too!
New Research Shows Grape Pulp is Rich in
Antioxidants
 (WebMD) White
wine fans, raise your glasses: A new study suggests
the lighter wines may be just as good for the heart
as red.
Until now, research has suggested the bulk of
grapes' heart-healthy benefits come from antioxidant
compounds primarily found in their skins. These
compounds are called anthocyanins and contribute to
the red color of the fruit.
In the making of red wines, the grape skins are
crushed along with the pulp. But the skins are
quickly separated out during the making of most
white wines.
That led to the conventional belief that red wines,
which contain more of these compounds, are
responsible for the drink's beneficial effects in
fighting heart disease.
But researchers say new evidence suggests the pulp
of grapes appears to be just as heart-healthy as the
skin, thanks to other types of antioxidants present
in the flesh.
This challenges the notion that red wines, like
cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and pinot noir, are
better for the heart than white wines, such as
chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, and Riesling.
Red Or White? Let Your Heart Decide
In the study, published in the Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a group of American
and Italian researchers compared the effect of
feeding laboratory rats water or equal amounts of
grape pulp extract, or grape skin extract for 30
days.
The results showed both extracts were equally
effective in protecting the rats from induced heart
attacks. Rats fed either grape skin or grape pulp
extract had significantly smaller heart attacks
compared with those fed water.
In addition, tests showed both extracts appeared to
have the same level of antioxidant activity.
Researchers say the grape skin extract did contain
high levels of anthocyanins — part of a class of
antioxidants known as polyphenols.
The pulp extract did not contain anthocyanins; but
it was rich in other types of polyphenols.
"Although further study is needed to identify the
principal ingredients responsible for the
cardioprotective abilities of the grape flesh, to
the best of our knowledge, our study provides
evidence for the first time that the flesh of grapes
is equally cardioprotective with respect to the
skins," writes researcher M. Falchi of the
University of Milan and colleagues.
SOURCES: Falchi, M. Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry, published on Web
site, Aug. 4, 2006. News Release, American Chemical
Society.
© 2006, WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.
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