“Astonishing” Effects of Grape Consumption and “Remarkable” Impacts on Health and Lifespans

Recent research released by Dr. John Pezzuto and his team from Western New England University shows “astonishing” effects of grape consumption and “remarkable” impacts on health and on lifespans.

One study was published in the journal Foods. It showed that adding grapes in an amount equal to just under two cups of grapes per day to a high-fat diet, typically consumed in western countries, yielded reductions in fatty liver and extended lifespans. Pezzuto noted that these studies add an entirely new dimension to the old saying ‘you are what you eat.’ He has authored over 600 scientific studies and said that the work with grapes showed actual changes in genetic expression. “That is truly remarkable.”

Adding grapes to a high-fat diet also increased levels of antioxidant genes and delayed natural death. Pezzuto acknowledged that it is not an exact science to translate years of lifespan from a mouse to a human. However, he said that his best estimate is that the change observed in the study would correspond to an additional 4-5 years in the life of a human.

Another study by Dr. Pezzuto and his team was published in the journal Antioxidants. It reported that grape consumption altered gene expression in the brain and had positive effects on behavior and cognition that were impaired by a high-fat diet.  A third study, published by a team led by Dr. Jeffrey Idle in the journal Food & Function, showed that in addition to changes in genetic expression, grapes also change the metabolism.

For more on this research, see “Remarkable” Impacts of Grape Consumption on Health and Lifespans.

“Consumption of Grapes Modulates Gene Expression, Reduces Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, and Extends Longevity in Female C57BL/6J Mice Provided with a High-Fat Western-Pattern Diet” by Asim Dave, Eun-Jung Park, Avinash Kumar, Falguni Parande, Diren Beyoğlu, Jeffrey R. Idle and John M. Pezzuto, 5 July 2022, Foods.
DOI: 10.3390/foods11131984

“Effect of Dietary Grapes on Female C57BL6/J Mice Consuming a High-Fat Diet: Behavioral and Genetic Changes” by Falguni Parande, Asim Dave, Eun-Jung Park, Christopher McAllister and John M. Pezzuto, 18 February 2022, Antioxidants.
DOI: 10.3390/antiox11020414

” Addition of grapes to both a standard and a high-fat Western pattern diet modifies hepatic and urinary metabolite profiles in the mouse” by Diren Beyoğlu, Eun-Jung Park, Adolfo Quiñones-Lombraña, Asim Dave, Falguni Parande, John M. Pezzuto and Jeffrey R. Idle, 20 July 2022, Food & Function.
DOI: 10.1039/D2FO00961G

The California Table Grape Commission provided the grapes used in the studies as well as partial support.