While 46 million adults drink all the wine sold in America, according to WineBusiness.com, few of them are aware that for thousands of years, grapes, along with their leaves and sap, have been used as traditional European treatments for various health conditions. Now, a study conducted by the University of Maryland Medical Center provides evidence supporting grapes’ healing powers. Their research showed that proanthocyanidin, a natural chemical found in red wine grape seed extract, is a powerful antioxidant that blocks the action of free radicals, which are activated oxygen molecules that damage cells.

Additional studies, such as those conducted at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, a food research center in Guelph, Canada, reveal that this antioxidant power is 20 times greater than vitamin C and up to 50 times greater than vitamin E. Proponents claim that these antioxidants may be capable of inhibiting the development of some types of cancer and protecting against heart disease, and say they are useful for treating a variety of medical conditions such as arthritis, allergies, circulatory problems, diabetes, water retention and vision problems.

In the 1990s, Professor Joseph Vercauteren on the faculty of pharmaceutics at Bordeaux University, in France, discovered that the skins of red grapes, discarded at the end of the grape harvest, contain resveratrol, a natural compound with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Once stabilized, resveratrol has the capacity to fight free radicals and skin aging and is a useful ingredient in therapeutic, anti-aging facial and body treatments.

Resource: My Body TLC, 865 4th Ave. S., Naples. 239-244-1434. MyBodyTLC.com.