The grape is a fruit that is full of virtues. And for good reason, by lowering the blood cholesterol level, it helps to fight against the occurrence of a heart attack.
- In France, 80,000 people have a myocardial infarction each year and around 12,000 patients die of a heart attack.
- Grapes improve cardiovascular health, by stimulating the diversity of intestinal bacteria and reducing cholesterol levels.
Breakfast, snack, dinner… Grapes can be tasted at any time of the day. This fruit is renowned for its aroma but also for its many health benefits. According to work published in the scientific journal Nutrients in Novemberconsuming it regularly would improve cardiovascular health, more specifically prevent myocardial infarction, more commonly known as “heart attack”.
To reach this conclusion, scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in the United States, recruited 19 people. Participants had to drink the equivalent of 1.5 cups of grapes a day for four weeks. During the study, the rest of their diet was low in fiber and polyphenols, a family of organic molecules found in different foods, including grapes.
The level of “bad cholesterol” fell by 5.9%
“After four weeks of grape consumption, there was an increase in microbial diversity, measured by the Shannon Index, a tool commonly used to measure species diversity. Akkermansia. It is very interesting for its effect on glucose and lipid metabolism, as well as on the integrity of the intestinal wall”the study authors said in a communicated.
Another observation: a drop in the total cholesterol level estimated at 6.1% thanks to polyphenols, present in large quantities in grapes. The researchers also observed a 5.9% reduction in LDL cholesterol, also called “bad cholesterol”. The results showed that bile acids, which are synthesized by the liver from cholesterol, decreased by 40.9%.
“We found that grapes have a beneficial effect on gut bacteria, which is great news, as a healthy gut is essential for good health. (…) This study deepens our knowledge and expands the range of benefits of grapes for health, even if it reinforces the virtues of grapes for heart health by reducing cholesterol”, said Professor Zhaoping Li, author of the study.
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