You Ask, I Answer: Grapes vs. Wine

Out of curiosity, how many grapes would someone have to eat to equal a serving (how many ounces is that?) of wine?

Also, is grape juice just as healthy as wine?

-- Patricia (last name unknown)
Berkeley, CA

Is it only red grapes that offer health benefits?

-- "WifeMomChocoholic"
Via the blog

As I mentioned in a previous post, the same buzz-worthy components in red wine are available in red grapes. One slight exception to the rule is resveratrol, which is simply more concentrated in wine.

One reason you don't hear quite as much about white wine, by the way, is because the production process separates the grape's flesh from the skin (for red wine, the whole fruit is used).

If you want to talk numbers, your average bottle of wine is made from approximately 600 grapes.

Now, let's do some math.

A standard wine bottle contains roughly 25 ounces. According to MyPyramid guidelines, one serving of wine is equal to 5 ounces.

Therefore, one serving of wine contains 120 grapes. That helps us better understand the recommendations of drinking, rather than eating, the fruit.

That is not to say, of course, that you need to eat 120 grapes to get health benefits (FYI -- one serving of fresh grapes is made up of 15 individual pieces).

As far as grape juice is concerned -- the health benefits are not quite up to those of wine.

Remember, the vast majority of grape juices are made from concentrate (which is largely made up of the naturally-occurring sugars). Consequently, a lot of the polyphenols and antioxidants found in grape skins do not make it to the final product.

Although red wine (and, therefore, red grapes) offers a wider variety of healthful components in larger amounts, don't cast off white grapes. Even though white wine is not made from grape skins, the fruit's flesh offers a fair share of polyphenols and antioxidants.

You Ask, I Answer: Popular Healthy Foods

Why is it that there is much talk about eating olive oil, wine, and tomato products and not simply olives, grapes, and tomatoes?

Surely the benefits of the processed forms are even more present in the whole form of the food.

Or is that not the case?

-- Corey Clark
(Location withheld)

I love this "thinking cap turned on" question!

Here is my take on each of the pairings:

Olive oil vs. olives: Everyone cooks with some sort of fat; not everyone eats olives.

So, in order to have as many people as possible reap the benefits of olives, it makes more sense to suggest they use olive oil in their cooking/salad dressings rather than eat olives.

Also, olives have a much stronger taste than olive oil. Many people who enjoy the flavor of olive oil do not find olives palatable.

Although olives offer more vitamins and minerals than olive oil, 120 calories of olives (equal to 1 tablespoon of olive oil) offers almost half of the daily recommended limit of sodium!

Tomato products vs. whole tomatoes: Cooked tomatoes offer higher levels of lycopene than their raw counterparts.

Wine vs. grapes: This is one I never understood. Grapes offer the same healthy compounds as wine. This is why I always tell people that if they regularly eat grapes but do not drink wine, they are not missing out on any health benefits!

I personally think this comes back to the "reaching as many people as possible" goal that applies to olive oil.

You Ask, I Answer: Resveratrol

What is your view on resveratrol? Are you opposed or open to the idea of taking resveratrol daily for its alleged significant benefits?

-- Guy Betterbid
New York, NY

Resveratrol is an antioxidant found in significant quantities in the skins of red grapes and, subsequently, in red wine.

The popular "French paradox" claims that one reason why French adults have lower rates of cardiovascular disease despite consuming a high-fat diet is due to their consistent consumption of red wine.

Touted by some as an anti-cancer agent, resveratrol (which is actually produced by plants' immune systems when attacked by certain bacteria or fungi) soon became a hot supplement.

I personally wouldn't recommend you rush out to GNC and start buying it, though.

I am always skeptical when one component of a food (in this case, resveratrol -- found in grapes, raspberries, blueberries, etc.) is isolated and expected to function the same way as when it is accompanied in its original packaging (in this case, an actual grape).

Remember that supplements are not regulated by any agency. Studies have shown that the amount of concentrated resveratrol is supplements widely ranges from one company to another.

There truly isn't enough research of this supplement on humans to recommend it. In fact, there are no long-term studies, and the short-term ones performed on rats appear to show that high concentrations of resveratrol might overwork the liver.

You're better off having a handful of grapes or berries every day (or, if you already drink, having a glass of red wine every day) to get your share of resveratrol.