Grape news!
It may be the secret ingredient for a healthy heart

Have you heard about resveratrol? It's a substance found in the skin and seeds of grapes that may help prevent dangerous clots from forming in the arteries. It may also help ward off obesity and diabetes, and red wine may be its best source. That's because it's fermented with grape skins for longer periods than white wine is, so it has more resveratrol.

The research on resveratrol
Alcohol has been found to raise good cholesterol, prevent blood clots and help prevent damage caused by bad cholesterol. In 2000, a large Danish study found that drinking moderate amounts of red wine cut the risk of dying from heart disease in half. But other studies found that red wine wasn't any better than other alcoholic drinks, such as beer and liquor. Still, some experts believe red wine contains something special that seems to improve heart health. And they think that something is resveratrol.

Drinker beware
Despite the potential benefits, experts are wary of encouraging everyone to drink up, as some people are more apt to become addicted to drinking. Plus, excessive alcohol consumption has been linked to high blood pressure, cancer, stroke, obesity, heart failure, arrhythmias, pancreas inflammation, liver disease and elevated triglycerides. And many resveratrol studies were done on mice, not humans, using incredibly large amounts of resveratrol. To get the same dose, you'd have to drink cases of red wine-something no healthcare provider would recommend.

Heart-healthy habits
The American Heart Association doesn't recommend drinking red wine for your heart. Instead, the group strongly suggests the tried-and-true path:

Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains; exercise; stop smoking; if you drink, do so in moderation (one drink a day for women, two for men); control your blood pressure and cholesterol; and maintain a healthy weight.

And red wine may not be the only game in town. You may be able to get the same heart-healthy benefits by eating grapes or drinking red or purple grape juice. Peanuts, blueberries and cranberries also contain some resveratrol. Several companies are working on pill forms of resveratrol-though none currently on the market contain enough to make a difference.

Eat right!
Click on “Healthy Flavors” at www.deborah.org to find an extensive library of healthy recipes and cooking videos from Chef Jim Coleman.

The Fountain of Youth?
Recent research has found that resveratrol may help slow age and obesity-related heart problems-at least in mice. A National Institutes of Health study noted that resveratrol reduced total cholesterol, controlled heart inflammation, improved the functioning of the aorta and mimicked the effects of heart-healthy calorie restriction. Resveratrol even increased the lifespan of the mice on a high-calorie diet. It seems promising, but researchers have a lot more work ahead before they enlist resveratrol in the battle on human aging.