Although you probably buy seedless grapes to eat, the seeds are actually extremely sought after in the beauty and health world. Why? Grape seed extract contains powerful health benefits. The seeds inside grapes used to be considered the worthless by-product of wine production. In the past, they were thrown out as waste. Come to find out, the seeds are extremely valuable. Instead of getting rid of them, grape seeds are in demand to create the extract. Because, let’s face it, eating fruit seeds is not enjoyable and it’s difficult for the body to digest.

This fruit has been useful to humans even as early as the Neolithic period. Grapes were cultivated for its nutritional and medicinal properties. The Ancient Greeks cultivated the fruit to make wine, which they hailed for its healing qualities. European folk healers extracted the sap from grapevines and used them to treat skin and eye infections. They used the leaves of the vine to treat hemorrhoids, pain, and inflammations. European folk healers also used the unripe grapes to cure soreness of their throats and treated constipation and excessive thirst with dried grapes (raisins) and water.

Proanthocyanidins and catechins are the potent antioxidants in grape seeds that are believed to be 20 times greater than vitamin E and 50 times greater than vitamin C. These polyphenols are believed to aid in improving Vitamin C activity, be effective in reducing the risk of clogged arteries, control blood pressure, reducing edema, boost wound healing and improves the skins elasticity.

The seeds also contains a compound called resveratrol. Resveratrol is praised for its anti-inflammatory properties, which makes Grape Seed Extract a great help in reducing swelling caused by dermatitis, infections, cuts, and excessive exposure to the sun’s rays. Resveratrol also promotes a healthy inflammatory response in your body, including helping to alleviate some of the oxidative stress and inflammation that can lead to premature aging.

According to a study, including grape seed extract in your diet with calcium has a beneficial effect on bone formation and bone strength for the treatment of bone debility. A different study found that grape seeds have properties that can reduce the severity of skin cancer.

In recent Science News, resveratrol a natural compound found in red wine and grapes can help address a hormone imbalance in women with PCOS, a leading cause of infertility in women, according to a new published study.

In addition, grape seed extract is found to contain powerful nutrients that prevent tooth decay. The recent study found that a combination of grape seed extracts and plant-based oligomeric proanthocyanidins prompted damaged collagen to repair itself.

When buying grape seed extract supplements, read the label carefully and make sure it contains 80 percent proanthocyanidins.
This level guarantees the supplement will stimulate body activities that will result in antioxidant behavior. Unfortunately, grape seed oil does not contain the beneficial proanthocyanidins found in grape seed extract.

Take grape seed extract supplement with Vitamin C and Vitamin E to improve its absorption. Also, Vitamin E’s healthy and beauty benefits boost when taken with antioxidants. The recommended daily dose of Grape Seed Extract for adults is 150 to 300mg per day.

It is important to talk to your doctor before taking grape seed extract as it can affect the way that certain medications are broken down in the liver.

Sources:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/263332.php

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161018143436.htm

https://zeenews.india.com/health/grape-seed-extract-may-help-prevent-tooth-decay-study-2013905

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The Refreshing Point

Grape Seed Extract Contains Health Boosting Benefits Including Anti-Aging

Found an amazing vid that shows every bit of happenings inside a cell with bright and vivid graphic presentation.

Notes:
Cell – the smallest unit of life. It takes up useful molecules and gets rid of waste molecules. It breaks down larger molecules to produce usable energy in the form of ATP molecules, where energy was stored, to synthesize other larger molecules. Big molecules are CONSTANTLY being breaking down into small molecules and the pieces used to make big molecules again, a process called ‘turnover’.

Selectin – any of a family of sugar-binding lectins that are found on the surface of cells (as endothelial cells and white blood cells) and that promote their adhesion to other cells and mediate their migration to sites of inflammation.

Leukocytes – white blood cell

Chemokine – any of a group of chemotactic cytokines that are produced by various cells (as at sites of inflammation), that are thought to provide directional cues for the movement of white blood cells (as T cells, monocytes, and neutrophils), and that include some playing a role in HIV infection because the cell surface receptors to which they bind are also used by specific strains of HIV for entry into cells.

Proteoglycan – any of a class of glycoproteins of high molecular weight that are found in the extracellular matrix of connective tissue, are made up mostly of carbohydrate consisting of various polysaccharide side chains linked to a protein, and resemble polysaccharides rather than proteins in their properties.

2 classes of receptors –
Ligand-gated ion channel
G protein-coupled receptor

Mitochondria – an organelle which break down nutrients such as glucose and provide the cell with energy to perform its function.

Membrane – defines the boundary of the cell and consists of a double layer of fatlike lipid molecules. Embedded in the membrane are a variety of protein molecules that have special functions.

Microtubule – a long strand of bundles of protein filaments arranged around a hollow core; part of the cytoskeleton and involved in transporting substances from place to place within a cell.

G-protein – a protein coupled to a metabotropic receptor. When a molecule of the neurotransmitter binds with the receptor, the receptor activates a G protein situated inside the membrane next to the receptor.

Cited:
Almon, Richard. Drugs, Stress, and Human Function. Cognella, Inc., 2013. USA

Carlson, Neil R., Foundations of Behavioral Neuroscience, 9th ed. Pearson, 2014. USA

U.S. National Library of Medicine, MedLine Plus, https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/

(I do not own this video)