Sugarotect Food Supplement

Health Benefits of Grape Seed Extract
By Conner Flynn

Health Benefits of Grape Seed Extract by Connor Flynn. Photograph of grapes and the removed grape seeds courtesy of Connor Flynn
Photograph courtesy of Connor Flynn
Grape seed extract, an antioxidant that helps your brain, liver, kidneys, and immune system, is all the rage – here are just a few of the benefits
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Grape seed extract is a phenomenal natural dietary supplement. Rich in nutrients, grape seed extract is made from pulverizing the seeds of grapes. After removing the seeds from grapes, they are dried and crushed, eventually becoming an extract. This extract is potent with:

Proanthocyanidins
Anthocyanins
Phenolic acids
Flavonoids
Oligomeric proanthocyanidin complexes
Gallic acid
These components become a super antioxidant that helps with tissue damage and inflammation, as well as eliminates infection risk and boosts the immune system.

Additional benefits include:

1. Helps the Brain
Several studies have shown that grape seed extract improves brain function. The flavonoids in the extract have been proven to have anti-inflammatory properties. It is believed that the reduction of brain inflammation delays or reduces the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. These studies have also shown that daily focus, attention, language, and memory had improved after using grape seed extract for just three months.

2. Improves Kidney and Liver Function
Kidney damage is often impossible to overcome and results in painful dialysis or transplant options. Studies have shown, however, that the use of grape seed extract can improve how damaged kidneys function by almost 10 percent. This is very significant for those who have chronic kidney failure.

The same goes for liver function. Due to the inflammatory properties of grape seed extract, the liver function has been shown to improve by as much as 50 percent when the extract has been used for at least three months.

The Health Benefits of Grape Seed Extract
Grape seed extract (Vitis vinifera) is a natural substance available in capsule and tablet form. It is usually sourced from grape seeds provided by wine manufacturers. Grapes and grape seed extract have a long history of culinary and medicinal use.

Health Benefits
Since the time of ancient Greece, various parts of the grape have been used for medicinal purposes. There are reports ancient Egyptians and Europeans used grapes and grapes seeds as well.

Today, we know that grape seed extract contains oligomeric proanthocyanidin (OPC), an antioxidant that is believed to improve certain health conditions. Some scientific evidence supports the use of of grape seed or grape seed extract to reduce poor blood flow in the legs and to reduce eye stress due to glare.

In alternative medicine, grape seed extract is purported to help with these additional conditions:

High cholesterol
Atherosclerosis
Improved athletic performance
Heart disease
Poor circulation
Menopause symptoms
Complications due to diabetes
Constipation
Gastrointestinal disorders
Age-related macular degeneration
Scientific support for these potential benefits of grape seed extract is limited, and there is not yet enough evidence to know for certain if grape seed extract can improve any of these conditions.

Additional research has investigated the following purported benefits of grape seed extract.

Cancer
Proponents claim that grape seed extract can help protect against cancer. In laboratory studies, scientists have demonstrated that grape seed can help fight free radicals (chemical byproducts known to cause DNA damage associated with cancer). However, it is still unclear whether grape seed also lowers cancer risk in humans.

Diabetes-Related Complications
In a 2009 study of 32 type 2 diabetes patients at high cardiovascular risk, participants took 600 mg of grape seed extract or a placebo every day for four weeks. Study results showed that grape seed extract significantly improved markers of inflammation and glycemia. The study's authors suggest that grape seed extract may have a therapeutic role in decreasing cardiovascular risk.

High Blood Pressure
In a 2009 study of subjects with metabolic syndrome, researchers found that four weeks of treatment with grape seed extract lowered both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Metabolic syndrome is marked by a cluster of health problems (including excess belly fat, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, insulin resistance, and inflammation) known to raise your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Alzheimer's Disease
Grape seed extract may help delay the development of Alzheimer's disease, according to an animal study published in 2009. In tests on mice, scientists discovered that grape seed extract eased inflammation and prevented the accumulation of substances known to form the brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease.