High blood pressure… heart failure… inflammation throughout the body… could eating some grapes really help with all of that?

Well, according to a new rat study by Michigan State University, it looks like grapes can directly affect your cardiovascular risk as well as lower blood pressure.

Here’s What The Researchers Did…

The rats in the study had similar characteristics to millions of humans who have high blood pressure and related heart failure. The rats were bred to develop high blood pressure when they eat a salty diet.

The animals were divided into 4 groups:

1. Those that received a powdered form of regular table grapes (green, red and black) that was mixed into their high-salt diet…

2. Those that received the grape powder mixed into their low-salt diet…

3. Control rats who didn’t receive any grape powder…

4. Control rats who didn’t get grape powder but did receive a low dose of hydrazine, a common blood pressure drug…

Here Are The Rat Results…

After eighteen weeks, the rats in group 1 (that received grape powder) had better heart function, lower blood pressure, less inflammation in their bodies, and less heart muscle damage than the rats in group 3 (the control group).

The rats in group 4 (control group with blood pressure medicine) had lower blood pressure, but more heart damage than the rats in group 1 (who received grape powder).

The scientists believe that high levels of phytochemicals, which are antioxidants that occur naturally in grapes, protect against heart damage.

They specifically keyed in on flavanoids as reducing blood pressure. The researchers aren’t sure if flavanoids cause a direct antioxidant effect, affect cell function indirectly, or do both.

Flavanoids are plentiful in the skin, seed, and flesh of the grape.

Of course, more studies are needed to determine if this grape effect will help human hearts and lower human blood pressure, too.