Here’s Why You Should Include Concord Grapes To Your Diet Every Single Day

What diet are you currently on? How many diets have you tried so far?

There are a lot of diets cropping up that are primarily aimed at weight loss. And many of these would recommend lessening intake of or totally ditching carbohydrates, which are commonly believed to cause weight gain. It’s true, they can indeed have that effect but only when you’ve taken them in excess. Remember, eating in moderation is key to maintaining good health.

You can’t be blamed, though; it’s easy to get swayed by all these fad diets. Paz Sales of Nutritionists Dietitians Association of the Philippines, however, emphasizes: “Nutritionist-dietitians will never recommend any fad diets. Never. Whatever fad diet there is, we will never recommend that because when one is a fad, it means to say that it can come and go, and is never a balanced one… Having a balanced diet means you have to get different food from different groups (Go, Glow and Grow). But some fad diets will always eliminate one and focus on two others or maybe eliminate two and focus only on one. That’s not healthy.”

Paz Sales of  Nutritionists Dietitians Association of the Philippines gives a refreshing talk about the health benefits of drinking 100% Concord grapes.

Paz reiterates the importance of having a balanced diet, further advising that “per day, we should have five different colors of fruits and veggies.” Known as “The Five Color Diet” or “Five a Day: The Color Way,” this diet suggests that you eat at least five different types of fruits and vegetables in various colors of red, green, yellow/orange, blue/purple, and white everyday.

Now, for your daily dose of purple fruits, Concord grapes are believed to be the best. Paz shares, “Concord grapes are the grapes that have very high polyphenols. And that’s also a study based from Lutz in 2011, where they started comparing the antioxidant activity of all the grapes, and it was found out that Concord grapes or the dark-skinned purple grapes have the highest antioxidants. And if you know what the antioxidants can do to your body, then you would know it’s good.” Polyphenols are natural antioxidants that are not typically found in other fruits.

You can enjoy your purple fruit with 8 oz. of Welch’s® 100% Grape Juice; 8 oz. of pure fruit juice such as this one are equivalent to serving a whole cup of fruit. FYI: 40 Concord grapes go into each 8 oz. glass of this juice, and one glass contains 250mg of polyphenols. It’s a drink that is high in vitamin C, too, and has no added sugar. Welch’s® has been using Concord grapes ever since 1869, when Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch thought of turning these little grapes into juice instead of wine.       

Here are the benefits of Concord grapes:

1. “It has plant nutrients called polyphenols that can help promote health, including heart health. Did you know? Many of the polyphenols in dark purple Concord grapes are the same as those found in red wine.”

2. “It may stimulate nitric oxide production to support healthy circulation.”  

3. “A new study in healthy adults found that regularly drinking 100% grape juice made with Concord grapes can help support heart health by contributing to healthy blood vessels and healthy circulation.”

Paz adds, “The purple, blue color of fruits and vegetables contain ingredients for good health.” The study of Lutz et al on the antioxidant activity and phenolic content of seed, skin, and pulp parts of 22 grape cultivars back in 2011 also indicates that purple grapes have the highest total antioxidant capacity. Paz expounds, “These natural antioxidants are responsible for promoting better heart circulation and preventing stroke and heart diseases.”  

Photos courtesy of Welch's