Research Shows “Remarkable” Impacts of Grape Consumption on Health and Lifespans

In a recent comprehensive study published in the journal Foods, it was reported that prolonged inclusion of grapes in the diet of rats leads to unique gene expression patterns, reduces fatty liver, and extends the lifespan of animals consuming a high-fat Western-style diet does. The research team was led by Dr. John Pejuto of Western New England University.

Pezzuto, who is the author of more than 600 papers in the scientific literature, said he was particularly amazed by these results. “We’ve all heard the adage ‘you are what you eat’ which is clearly true because we all start out as a fetus and grow up to be adults by eating food. But these studies absolutely disprove that old adage. Not only does food transform into parts of our bodies, but as our work with dietary grapes shows, it actually changes our genetic expression. It’s really remarkable.”

What is the effect of this change of gene expression? As shown in this paper, fatty liver is prevented or delayed. Fatty liver is a condition that affects approximately 25% of the world’s population and can eventually lead to other adverse effects, including liver cancer. The gene responsible for the development of fatty liver was found to be beneficially altered by consumption of grapefruit. In ancillary functions, not only is gene expression altered, but dietary grapefruit also alters metabolism. This study was recently published by a collaborative team led by Dr. Jeffrey Idle in the journal food and work,

Studying grapes adds a whole new dimension to the adage that ‘you are what you eat.’

In addition to genes related to fatty liver, the work found that grapefruit supplements increased levels of antioxidant genes. According to Pezzuto, “Many people think of taking dietary supplements that claim high antioxidant activity. In reality, however, you may not be consuming enough antioxidants to make a big difference. But If you change antioxidant gene expression levels, as we’ve seen with grapefruit in the diet, the result is a catalytic reaction that can make a real difference.

Another notable effect demonstrated in this research was grapefruit’s ability to extend the lifespan of rats fed a high-fat Western-patterned diet. High-fat Western-patterned diets can be linked to adverse conditions such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and[{” attribute=””>Alzheimer’s disease. Adding grapes to the diet, which did not affect the rate of consumption or body weight, delayed natural death. Although translating years of lifespan from a mouse to a human is not an exact science, Pezzuto notes that his best estimate is the change observed in the study would correspond to an additional 4-5 years in the life of a human.

Precisely how all of this relates to humans remains to be seen, but it is clear that adding grapes to the diet changes gene expression in more than just the liver. In studies recently published in the journal Antioxidants by Pezzuto and his team of researchers, it was found that grape consumption alters gene expression in the brain. At the same time, grape consumption had positive effects on behavior and cognition that were impaired by a high-fat diet, suggesting that the alteration of gene expression was what produced this beneficial response. More studies are needed, but it is notable that a team led by Silverman at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) reported that the daily administration of grapes had a protective effect on brain metabolism. This new research indicates that this is due to alteration of gene expression.

References:

“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

” 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

“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

The grapes used in these studies were provided by the California Table Grape Commission, who partially supported the work as well. Kathleen Nave, president of the commission, noted that the grape growers of California are proud to have supported grape research at over 70 institutions throughout the US and the world for over 20 years. She stated that “Grape growers in California have had the privilege of supporting scores of projects over the years. Some studies have shown positive effects on health, and others have not been as promising. The results reported by John Pezzuto and his team are exciting and rewarding on many levels. The potential for improvements in human health is significant as is the strength of the data which logically supports the need for follow-up work in human clinical trials. All of this is rewarding to the growers who have funded research year after year with the sole objective of following the science and learning what we could from high caliber peer-reviewed research. Studies like the ones reported here are not only rewarding to grape growers and of interest to the scientific community, but are of value to everyone who wants to optimize their health and understands that what we eat matters. We can’t ask for more than that.”