Juice Fasting

Nearly all of us, from the time that we were children have enjoyed either eating grapes or drinking grape juice.  The sweet, flavorful juice is always a refreshing treat, and now we have discovered that grape juice contains substances and compounds that can help us live better, healthier lives.  For a long time, it was thought that only red wine could bestow certain health benefits, depriving children, teens, and teetotalers from these – however, now it has been found that grape juice gives you all these health boosts without alcohol.

Perhaps the first clue that grape juice was a tonic everyone needs came from France, where the incidence of heart disease is low although the cholesterol content of their food is high.  The answer, of course, was red wine.  Grapes are simply loaded with flavonoids, which are valuable in keeping our arteries and veins open and unclogged with deposits of plaque from cholesterol.  A great deal of heart disease occurs because our arteries become narrowed with these deposits, which causes a decrease in the velocity of the blood.  As the flow of blood slows, it becomes easier for clots to form, and these can cause heart attacks or stroke.  Grape juice can help prevent or reverse coronary heart disease, and has been shown to be effective in preventing further heart attacks in people who have already suffered them.

Grape juice contains a range of phytonutrients that can improve the health of those who drink it.  Phytonutrients are those chemicals produced by plants that have been found to be beneficial to us.  One of the most important of these plant nutrients is resveratrol, which is found in the skin of grapes.  Resveratrol has value in reducing the size of tumors, especially those found on the skin or in the digestive system. Research is continuing as regards the general cancer-fighting properties of this compound.

Besides acting against tumors, resveratrol can help to treat patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.  Plaque that formed in different regions of the brain was reduced when resveratrol was added to the diet.  Adding grape juice to your daily diet may be a good way to prevent this serious condition before it begins, and may help those already suffering from it to recover to some extent.

As people age, they become more and more susceptible to arthritis.  The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.  Both of these forms cause pain and swelling in the joints, and it is not uncommon to see hands that have been deformed and twistedby severe arthritis. This is a condition that can interfere greatly with mobility and quality of life in general.  Resveratrol in grape juice can help with the inflammation caused by arthritis, reducing the swelling and discomfort.

All of us need a healthy immune system to fight off diseases caused by bacteria and viruses, and a glass of grape juice daily can help to bolster this and help to keep us free of illness.  Grape juice contains a high amount of vitamin C and other antioxidants that are great at helping with the formation of more T-cells, those antibodies that are our first line of defense when our bodies are invaded by flu virus, colds, or strep bacteria.  Grape juice actually contains twice as much of these antioxidants than does orange juice.

A glass of grape juice every day will provide everyone in the family with a beverage that not only tastes delicious, but is good for them.

References

Antioxidant and antigenotoxic activities of purple grape juice
Resveratrol content of Palomino fino grapes: influence of vintage and fungal infection
Linus Pauling Institute Resveratrol
Alzheimer’s Disease Researchers Study Grape Juice And Red Wine Polyphenols
Using Certo in juice helped arthritis