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Grape
Seed Extract - Heart Disease and Cancer Fighter
A
great deal of information has been presented in recent
studies pointing to the widespread benefit of grapes-specifically
to an extract obtained from grape seeds. As most of
us know, grapes are mentioned extensively in the Bible,
and grape products were used on a daily basis by the
Israelites.
Modern
medicine has now linked the use of chemical extracts
from the grape seed to the prevention of heart disease.
Recent evidence even indicates that it can destroy
certain cancer cells.
In
a study from the State University of New York Health
Science Center in Syracuse, researchers reported on
the rather unique ability of grape seed extract to
raise the good or protective HDL cholesterol. Raising
HDL levels has been one of the greatest challenges
in medicine.
The
HDL molecule acts as a scavenger that removes cholesterol
from the arteries and takes it to the liver where
it is excreted from the body. Most cholesterol drugs
work by lowering the bad cholesterol, which is good,
but raising HDL levels may have an even greater payoff.
Recent studies show that for every one percent increase
in HDL, there is a three percent drop in risk of heart
attack.
Niacin (a B vitamin) is one of the few natural substances
that can raise HDL, but some of niacin's more overt
side effects, such as flushing and dizziness, cause
problems for many people.
There
were no side effects, however, in the study on grape
seed extract and many patients experienced up to a
14 percent increase in HDL cholesterol levels. Further,
their triglycerides-another significant factor in
causing heart disease-dropped 15 percent! Few medications
or foods can produce these dramatic changes.
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