I love grapes (eh-hem…could you not tell???)

What can I say? I have always been a sucker for the grape. Once you pop them in your mouth they dance, sing, and finally burst with simple sweet natural goodness that awakens the palate, quenches thirst, and dents hunger. Grapes are my all-time favorite fruit … no joke! I just can’t resist them or their name! For example, in elementary school I named my neighborhood kickball team the Green Grapes! My softball team–the Green Grapes! My basketball team–uh, can you guess … the Green Grapes! Why, you ask??? Because I LOVE green grapes and those 2 words, “green” + “grapes” just sound so darn good together!

I tried to keep this “team name” going in high school, but, as you may imagine,  it didn’t go over so well. Hence, I decided the perfect place for my Green Grapes dedication would be my health blog!

Now that you have a little background of the GGB name, we need to talk about something. Are you sitting down? No, just kidding–not that serious. But, kind of…

Ms. Healthy Blog Snack and I were chatting–as usual–and she filled me in on some grape slander. Apparently, on The Bonnie Hunt Show someone commented that “grapes make you fat.” NOOOO!!! WRONG!!!! Then, just the other day, grapes got a bad rap on The Biggest Loser, which does NOT make me a happy grape eater! These comments got me VERY concerned!

Why??? A) wrong nutrition information is being given; B) wrong nutrition information is being highly promoted; C) grapes are tiny, tasty tots of joy, health, and delight. AND, they  just so happen to be a fruit! How can people be raggin’ on a pure, simple food from nature? It is just wrong! You can see for yourself! Check out the nutrition 411 on table grapes below: 90 calories per serving, 0 fat grams, 1 gram of fiber … this is GOOD!!! Yet, people continue to diss grapes! So frustrating…

People have argued the following points with me:

1. Grapes are higher in sugar than other fruits, such as berries
2. Grapes are “high calorie”
3. Grapes don’t provide much fiber

My responses to the above:

1. Grapes have about 20 grams of sugar per cup verse 8 grams per cup in berries, BUT people this is a natural sugar…ain’t no high-fructose added junk here!
2. Grapes are NOT high calorie!!! If we say you need 2000 calories per day, 1 serving is only 4.5%  of your total calorie needs. 2 servings= 9%…Get the point?
3. Grapes may not be a SUPER FIBER PROVIDER, but this should not be an issue! You should be eating other foods (not just grapes) that get you to your fiber quota.

I will now tell you a secret … Did you know that I can see the search terms that people use to find GGB? And, the TOP SEARCH item was, “Do grapes make you fat?” Poor grapes! My instinctive answer was NOOOO!!!!!!! Then I thought, WOW, so many aren’t showing grapes the love … BUT then I discovered that some may be showing grapes TOO much love.

On various web discussion forums MANY people were writing in that they ate 8 to 12 cups of grapes per day, meaning they were consuming about 800-1,200 calories in grapes ALONE per day! This amount of grapes may put a dent in your weight efforts and may just cause your stomach to be mad (did I mention “grapes and diarrhea and constipation” were also top search terms people used to find GGB?). If you are suffering from stomach distress after your daily grape fix, you might want to cut back. But, you don’t need ME to tell you that! Basically, show grapes LOVE–they are a HEALTHY food and WILL NOT make you fat!!!! Just don’t go downing 10 plus cups per day???? Ya, feel me?

Before I sign off on this post, I must tell you why grapes are a nutritional powerhouse…

• Grapes of all colors, red, black, green–no discrimination here–contain antioxidants! In other words, grapes are protecting your cells from damage and keeping you a lean, mean, disease-fighting machine!
• Grapes keep your ticker tickin’ by helping lower blood pressure, bad cholesterol, and inflammation (Yea!).
• Grape skins–again of all colors–are the main dietary source of Resveratrol. You’re like, what the heck is that??? Resveratrol is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that has shown potential in battling Alzheimer’s, cancer, and may just help increase your time on this planet … so you can eat more grapes of course … just kidding:)
• Grapes deliver the nutrients needed to keep your eyes healthy. This one may not sound too exciting to you, but I don’t need to blog about how important your eyesight is for you to “get it.”

Bottom Line:

• Grapes are a natural, whole food! What more can you ask for?
• Grapes will not make you fat!
• Grapes are antioxidant powerhouses!
• Grapes are delicious!
• I LOVE grapes!

Check out this AWESOME recipe search from my home state’s Grape Commission–California Table Grape Commission. HERE you can find tons of Recipes that incorporate grapes into any dish–an appetizer, entree, side dish, dessert, or salad. Plus, you can choose if you want a quick, featured, or low fat recipe! I plan on making the sea scallops with red grapes, avocado, and pea shoots–YUM!

Go out & Healthify and show grapes some LOVE while you’re at it!

Your grape defender,

Corinne