Grapes or Red Wine?

Q: Are grapes as good for you as red wine?

A: The phytonutrients in grapes protect our hearts and blood vessels from oxidative damage and atherosclerotic plagues; they also help our arteries stay elastic so that the blood pressure remains under control. These phytonutrients are active in fresh grapes and in wines, especially red wine. However, fresh grapes are very high in carbohydrates while in wine, friendly bacteria work hard to eat the excess sugar up, so dry wine is a low carb product containing only 1.75 carb grams in a wine glass. White grapes are less nutrient-dense than red grapes but still are very good for you. Research show that the beneficial nutrients can not be effectively extracted from grapes to create potent supplements so the broadly advertised grape seed supplements failed competing with real grapes.

European grapes are generally higher in carbohydrates (28.43g in 1 cup) and fiber (1.6g) than the American varieties (respectively 15.78 and 0.98 g) but they are much richer in Vitamin C: 1 cup of grapes contain about 29% of recommended daily volume versus 6% in American grapes.

Tanya Zilberter, PhD