Grapes are one of the most popular fruits to snack on, packed with nutrients and super convenient to have—being a favorite for many!
However, not watching how much you eat anything, be it grapes, can be more harm than good.
Grapes are too small that they become deceiving, and often you end up having too much of them.
This just adds on to the calories being consumed, making you fat or contributing to weight gain.
A bowl of grapes having 30-40 grapes is considerable to be consumed in a day, but anything more than that will not be good.
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Can grapes cause weight gain?
Grapes are consumed widely for the wide array of benefits offered by them, like vitamins, high mineral content and high antioxidants.
Having too much can have side effects though, which include upset stomach, weight gain and complications in pregnancy.
Eating large portions of grapes regularly may cause weight gain.
This is true if one does not keep a conscious check on what they eat in a day.
Most fruits, including grapes, have fiber, overconsumption of which can lead to constipation.
Most side effects of grapes occur because of their excess intake, which are although not too common but one must know those.
Are grapes good for weight loss?
Grapes are packed with nutrients and antioxidants, helping us stay healthy and are low on calories, besides being virtually fat free.
This means that adding them to your diet can aid in your weight loss.
Grapes are a natural source of resveratrol. It is a powerful antioxidant having some benefits for weight loss and the source of a small amount of satiating fiber.
If you add grapes to your diet instead of fried junk food, you can easily pace up your weight-loss diet.
The best part is that they are super delicious as well!
Although they are good for weight loss and serve many health benefits, it must also be kept in mind that all grapes are loaded with sugar.
A serving of 100-grams can contain 67-71 calories with a whopping 16 grams of sugar.
Therefore, it is important to eat them in moderation instead of relying on grapes alone.
When you mix them up with other nutritious foods, you can move towards effective weight loss.
Grapes are found in multiple colors, and in terms of their nutrition profile, they all rank quite high and are the same.
It is interesting to note that many grapes are suggested to be equally great for weight loss, if consumed the right way.
What Happens to Your Body When you eat grapes?
1. Your blood sugar rises
Your blood sugar will rise when you have grapes, but of course not as much as that caused by soda.
One reason for this is that grapes have fiber content as well, that slows down the rate at which the body absorbs nutrient, including sugar.
Although the fiber content isn’t too high, it is just enough to keep the blood sugar in a reasonable range.
Resveratrol in grapes has also shown to increase insulin sensitivity, adding a beneficial effect to the overall blood sugar levels.
2. Antioxidants come in to action
We all have heard about antioxidants, which are powerful substances defending your body from damage caused by free radicals.
Grapes are packed with antioxidants that protect and repair the body’s cells from oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress is linked to the development of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart diseases and cancer.
It has been shown in research that grapes have over 1600 beneficial plant compounds.
Its seeds and skin have the highest concentration of antioxidants, which makes it better to have them whole instead of just having grape juice.
Here, it is also worth noting that red grapes have a much higher content of antioxidants compared to green ones.
This is because of the presence of anthocyanin, which is a kind of flavonoid, that is also responsible for the color of grapes.
3. Your body’s inflammation will decrease
Chronic inflammation is one cause of many long terms health issues and symptoms, weight gain, fatigue, headaches, muscle aches and joint pains and gastrointestinal issues.
It is also linked to other serious conditions like cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, arthritis and Alzheimer’s.
Grapes have a diverse range of strong antioxidants that can help reduce the body’s inflammation.
Resveratrol, in particular, has significant anti-inflammatory properties.
Many studies have shown that anti-inflammatory compound levels in blood can be increased by taking in grape powder extract.
4. Your risk of heart diseases will decrease
A cup of grapes has a significant amount of potassium, playing a key role in controlling your blood pressure.
Besides this, studies have also shown that red grapes have compounds that will significantly reduce the total LDL or bad cholesterol in blood.
5. Immune system gets boosted
Grapes have 27% recommended daily intake of vitamin C in a cup, being a remarkable source of vitamin C.
It is an essential nutrient that supports the immune system; this also explains why many studies have shown grape skin to be beneficial against flu virus.
