A balanced diet can help support heart health (Image: Getty)
More research is pointing to the potential cardiovascular benefits of certain fruits, including support for a healthy, normally functioning heart. What we eat plays a central role in protecting heart health, with experts recommending pulses, beans, fruit, vegetables and oily fish as part of a balanced diet. Among the foods attracting particular interest are red berry grapes.
Dark-coloured grapes are often viewed as the healthier choice because they contain higher levels of compounds associated with disease protection. As well as offering a naturally sweet way to curb post-meal cravings, they may also benefit the heart. Heart Research UK says anthocyanins, which occur in dark red, black and purple fruits, are “potentially linked to improvements in cholesterol levels and vascular health”.
Anthocyanins are responsible for the rich colours found in many berries and other fruits. Their potential health benefits have added to growing interest in polyphenols, including anthocyanins and resveratrol, which are found in foods such as blueberries and red berry grapes.
Research published in Nutrients suggests that polyphenols in plant foods, including grapes and blueberries, may help protect against several factors linked to cardiovascular disease. These include atherosclerosis, unhealthy blood-fat levels, impaired blood-vessel function, high blood pressure and inflammation.
Dr Roy Jogiya, chief medical advisor at Heart Research UK, said a “growing body of evidence” indicates that anthocyanins may play an especially valuable role in supporting the heart and cardiovascular system.
He added that research into specific heart-related risks had reported an 18% reduction in myocardial infarction, or heart attack, an 8% reduction in the risk of developing high blood pressure and an 11% decrease in type 2 diabetes—an illness frequently associated with cardiovascular disease.
Darker grapes may contain more beneficial compounds (Image: Getty)
Some studies have found that selected red berry grape varieties contain up to six times more anthocyanins than black-skinned table grapes.
“Alongside heart-supporting polyphenols such as anthocyanins, an 80g handful of red berry grapes provides a colourful contribution towards your five-a-day, while a 125g serving contains fewer than 100 calories,” said Dr Emma Derbyshire. “They also provide fibre, vitamins C and E, thiamine, vitamin B6 and folate, as well as potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and zinc.”
A review combining findings from several studies found that higher dietary anthocyanin intake was associated with lower total cholesterol, increased beneficial HDL cholesterol, reduced harmful LDL cholesterol, greater antioxidant activity measured by TEAC, lower triglyceride levels and decreased blood pressure.
Amie Leckie, health and wellbeing specialist at Heart Research UK, said: “There are many ways that red-fleshed grapes and other anthocyanin-rich foods may support heart health, so including them as part of a balanced diet is a sensible choice.”
Dr Nisa Aslam added: “Anything which supports vascular function and helps to lower blood pressure is likely to deliver significant cardiovascular benefits. The potential role of anthocyanins is underlined by meta-analysis of 128 trials, which found that blood pressure was ‘significantly reduced’ by the two main dietary sources of anthocyanins – berries and red grapes/wine.”
Meanwhile, Dr Derbyshire concluded: “There is a clear take-home message from these studies: Red, dark fruits such as red berry grapes – which are naturally abundant in anthocyanins – are a helpful support for our cardiovascular health.”
