New research from the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center suggests that eating grapes, a favorite fall fruit, can significantly enhance the simple blood-pressure lowering impact that comes from dining on a variety of fruits and vegetables. The benefit may come from grapes’ naturally occurring antioxidants. Our heart cells, like other cells in our body, already make a protective antioxidant called glutathione, a first line of defense against oxidative stress and heart disease; but high blood pressure lowers the levels of glutathione. Grapes, on the other hand, the scientists discovered, actually turn on the glutathione-regulating genes in the heart, giving natural antioxidant power a significant boost.

Source: University of Michigan Health System, 2009.