Many fruits have proven to give your body support when treating gout attacks, but one of the more questionable fruits that many people still wonder about would be grapes.
Is there a legitimate link between grapes and gout?
While there may be some detractors to the idea, and while there is some evidence showing too much of this fruit may not be a good thing, the overwhelming amount of support grapes give your body when treating gout can’t be ignored.
Positive Links Between Grapes and Gout
Starting at their core grape seeds provide benefits to your body that can possibly help you fight rising serum uric acid levels.
The rise of uric acid levels is a main contributing factor to a person experiencing a gout attack.
A team based Nanjing, China conducted a study on how effective the administration of procyanidins from grape seeds in handling uric acid levels in mice.
Through 3 days at a daily dose of 400 mg/kg, the oxonate-pretreated mice showed no difference from normal mice in uric acid levels.
These results showed that the procyaninids from grape seeds, which were given to the mice, featured urate-lowering activities.
Another important part of grape seed extract are powerful antioxidants called oligomeric proanthocyanidins, also known as OPCs.
These antioxidants help neutralize free radicals, oxygen molecules that are unstable. Free oxygen radicals especially cause joint damage in many RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) joints. Grape seed extract is believed to promote circulation.
One key thing to keep in mind when trying to reduce the amount of attacks from rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and gout is that acid wastes can be eliminated more easily when the blood and urine are kept at least slightly alkaline.
Lowered kidney function leads to formed uric acid crystals, but these crystals are dissolved in alkaline urine. In this case the crystals are removed from the blood stream, preventing deposits in the joints.
There is sufficient nutritional value in eating grapes. For starters this fruit is rich in potassium. 203 mg of potassium per 100 grams from grapes make up 4% of the potassium RDA.
A single grape (6 grams) amounts to 12.18 mg of potassium. In comparison to grapes, bananas have 155 mg (or 76%) more potassium. 159 mg is the average amount of potassium found in 100 grams of grapes.
Vitamin C has consistently proven to naturally lower the levels of uric acid in the body.
Normally a sustained-release vitamin C supplement with flavonoids can do the job, but if you don’t readily have any supplements to take eating grapes would be a good alternative.
Grapes contain 10.8 mg of vitamin C in nutrient value, which amounts to an 18% RDA.
Resveratrol is a polyphenolic phytochemical compound that is found in grapes, and this is a powerful antioxidant functions alongside Vitamin C to stimulate a person’s immune system to fight various diseases, infections, inflammation and cancer.
Professors Soo-Yeun Lee and Youngsoo Lee co-directed research regarding resveratrol’s impact on the human body, and their studies show that resveratrol can either slow down or stop benign and malignant tumor growth at the stages of initiation, promotion and progression.
Another class of polyphenolic antioxidants that are found in red grapes would be anthocyanins.
These phytochemicals benefit the body by fighting against activities related to allergic, inflammatory, microbial and cancerous.
How much of a difference is there in antioxidant content in grapes? Purple and red grapes have the most in common with each other concerning skin, pulp and cytosol.
Grapes are also a rich source of iron, copper and manganese, which are micronutrient minerals.
The latter two minerals are especially effective in the development of the antioxidant enzyme called superoxide dismutase.
Even if you consider eating only raisins, the shriveled up cousins of grapes, you will still consume plenty of concentrated iron.
Drinking grape juice also proves to be beneficial for the body as studies show that purple grape juice enhances platelet and endothelial production of nitric oxide, playing a part in fighting coronary artery disease.
The results of these studies suggest that moderate amounts of consuming purple grape juice be included along with 5 to 7 daily servings of fruits and vegetables per day to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Purple grape juice contains flavonoids which can prevent the thickening of arteries that supply blood to the heart.
If you are wondering whether or not drinking red wine, a beverage made out of grapes, is off limits, then consider this study conducted by the University of Wisconsin Medical School.
John D. Folts, professor of medicine, published findings indicating that red wine can prevent platelets from becoming hyperactive and sticking to arteries, a process that can lead to coronary artery disease and in many cases gout attacks.
Grapes as Part of a Healthy Diet
It is very easy to implement grapes in a well-balanced and healthy diet when treating gout. For starters an updated version of the Waldorf Salad is very safe for people with gout to eat.
Grapes can be included in this salad along with apples that are carefully cut into 4 slabs, dried cranberries, celery and walnuts.
This combination makes up a chunky salad of 153 calories that curbs a person’s hunger during the afternoon.
If you normally incorporate berries in a bowl of cereal for breakfast, then having grapes on the side wouldn’t hurt.
In fact if you were to consume a ¼ pound of grapes per breakfast meal on most weekdays you would be able to have a sufficient nutritional balance.
The Case Against Grapes for Gout
While there are plenty of benefits that grapes provide for the human body, there are also some caution flags to raise. Even though this fruit is very alkalizing, grapes have also been found to be moderately high in purines.
According to various purine tables, grapes are in the Moderately High group of purine foods, containing 107 mg of purines and a uric acid count of 86.4. One serving of green grapes amounts to 30 mg of purines, which is equal to 15 mg of simple sugar.
What is also concerning about the consumption of grapes is that they are also considered to be High Fructose fruits.
When a single cup of grapes are served a person would be consuming around 12.28 grams of fructose per serving at a value of 8.13 grams per 100 grams.
High fructose corn syrup contains 55% fructose and 45% glucose, and this artificial substance is harder on a person’s joints because fructose is metabolized differently than glucose.
The consumption of high fructose corn syrup quickly leads to a rise in uric acid levels.
Are Grapes Good or Bad for Gout?
While there are some pressing concerns about grapes, when eaten in moderation as part of a well-balanced diet grapes can do more good than harm to the human body.
If you suffer from gout attacks you will have no problems incorporating small amounts of grapes into your diet.
When comparing the positive and negative links between grapes and gout, there is more reason to be optimistic about the benefits one can receive from eating grapes.
It comes down your own personal preference as to whether or not you like eating grapes, but these fruits can overall treat your condition of gout in many positive ways.
References:
1.https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/78291/Koga_Clarissa1.pdf?sequence=1
2.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15125693https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12083471/
3.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26784463
4.https://www.jbbardot.com/alkalizing-grapes-help-dissolve-uric-acid-crystals-for-joint-pain-relief/
5.https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/grape-seed-extract/gout/
6.http://www.acumedico.com/purine.htmhttp://blog.arthritis.org/gout/fructose-sugar-gout/
