The green grape is a sweet fruit that grows in bunches. The fruit makes a popular snack, both because of its sweet flavor and because you can eat one whole without making a mess.
But green grapes are more than just a convenient snack. They’re also packed with vitamins and minerals that help keep your body strong.
Health Benefits
Green grapes are a convenient snack, easy to pack into a lunch box or carry with you in the car. Beyond their portability, green grapes offer many health benefits. Here are just a few advantages of making green grapes part of your regular diet:
Weight Management
Grapes contain a chemical compound called resveratrol. Studies have shown that resveratrol can help your body metabolize fatty acids, increase your energy level, and improve your overall metabolism, all of which can help with weight loss.
Grapes also contain lots of flavonoids, a strong type of antioxidant that some studies show can help you maintain a healthy weight.
Lower Blood Pressure
High blood pressure affects more than 100 million Americans.
One way to control high blood pressure is to eat foods that are rich in potassium. Potassium binds to the sodium in your bloodstream, helping to flush it out of your system. Green grapes are packed with potassium and fiber, which can help lower high blood pressure by regulating your cardiovascular system.
Nutrition
Like many fruits, green grapes are packed with vitamins and minerals. Most notable are their high levels of Vitamin C and Vitamin K. Green grapes also contain:
- Vitamin B6
- Potassium
- Manganese
Nutrients per Serving
A single ½ cup serving of green grapes contains:
- Calories: 52
- Fat: 0 grams
- Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
- Sodium: 2 milligrams
- Carbohydrates: 14 grams
- Dietary Fiber: 1 gram
- Sugar: 7.75 grams
- Protein: Less than 1 gram
Portion Sizes
Grapes are a high-fructose food, which means that eating too many grapes can spike your blood sugar levels, especially if you have type 2 diabetes or fructose intolerance.
But that doesn’t mean you need to avoid grapes altogether. Even people with type 2 diabetes can eat grapes as part of a healthy diet. The key is to pay attention to your portion sizes and limit yourself to 4-5 servings of fruits per day. Try to balance high-fructose fruits like grapes with low-fructose fruits like bananas.
How to Prepare Green Grapes
One of the benefits to eating green grapes is that you can eat them whole, right off the stem. Wash green grapes before eating them to rid them of any pesticides that may have been sprayed on them.
In addition to eating green grapes raw, many people enjoy eating frozen green grapes. One trick is to freeze green grapes and then use them to chill your glass of wine or grape juice. As the grapes thaw, they won’t leave your beverage tasting watered down the way ice might, and you can snack on them when you’re done!
Grapes also mix well into fruit salads and yogurts, and they make ideal pops of flavor and color for a cheeseboard. Add them to cold savory dishes like chicken salad to shake up the texture and introduce a bit of sweetness.
