by Dan-N on January 25, 2010
We can see the job listing now for the next SuperFruit…
Seeking Next Great SuperFruit.
Must be from Far Away Place and
Have Mysterious Powers. Magical
Weight Loss Powers a Major Plus.
Clinical Studies and Strong Science
Not Necessary.
Local Fruits Need Not Apply.
Why The Industry Loves Fruits From Exotic Places
Here is an industry secret – they love anything from a place that very few people have ever been to! The more exotic and mysterious, the more powerful their fruits must be. Here are just some of the new SuperFruits that the industry is promoting for 2010 – Caja Fruit (Brazil), Marula Fruit (Southern Africa) UmBu fruit (Brazil) and the list goes on.
So why is it that SuperFruits can only grow in exotic lands? They don’t! The supplement industry likes to tell emotional stories, stories about a culture in a far away land that eat fruit and live to be 120 years old has a lot of appeal. The stories may not have a lot of truth or science, but they do sound nice.
So SuperFruits from Exotic Lands Are All Bogus?
Of course not. We think the Acai Berry from Brazil is a true superfruit. The Noni comes from a far away land and has many strong health benefits. So, yes, fruits that come from exotic lands can be wonderful superfruits. What we are saying is that many fruits that come from far away places are… well, just plain old fruits that come from far away places! You don’t become a SuperFruit just because you are not grown in the USA.
How Popular Would Muscadine Grapes Be If They Came from a Rainforest in Brazil?
The lovely muscadine grape may be the best example of the industry bias against local fruits. Muscadine Grapes grow in places like Georgia, Texas and North Carolina – no offense to our southern friends, but not the most exotic lands. However, on a nutritional level, it is hard to argue that the Muscadine Grape is NOT a SuperFruit:
Clearly, from a pure nutrition and health stand point, the muscadine grape should be a Superfruit.
We Call for Equal Rights for Local SuperFruits
Let’s be fair to all fruits – regardless of where they come from. If a fruit from some tiny island off the coast of an even smaller island in the South Pacific has incredible health properties, we will be right there singing its praises. On the other hand, if a fruit that grows like a weed in New Jersey also has incredible health properties (we know – not very likely) – let’s be fair and call that a SuperFruit too!
by Dan-N on November 6, 2009
At this point most people know that pesticides are bad. Most people understand that if pesticides get into the foods we eat, they can have very negative effects. What people don’t know is that pesticides are having a very negative impact on our food supply, even when they are not in the food we eat!
Hey, What Happened to All the Resveratrol in My Red Wine?
Resveratrol is an incredible popular nutrient found in red grapes and red wine. Click here if you want to read our full Special Report on Resveratrol – its health benefits, the science and the clinical studies. We go over it in detail in the report, but Resveratrol has strong anti-aging benefits and it is believed to at least partly explain the “French Paradox” – the French have a high fat diet and smoke, but they have very low rates of heat disease. The theory is the Resveratrol in the red wine they drink is what keeps them healthy.
About 30 years ago a bottle of red wine had about 30mg of Resveratrol. Today that same bottle has only about 3mg! Why is the Resveratrol content of Red Wine decreasing? Pesticides.
Pesticides Are Making Grapes Lazy!
The antioxidants in red grapes – the resveratrol and the other polyphenols are produced by grapes to fight off infection, bugs and harsh conditions. Well, guess what happens when you start to use Pesticides to fight off the bugs and infection? You guessed it – the grapes decrease the amount of resveratrol and other polyphenols that they produce.
Resveratrol Levels Dropping in Red Grapes and Muscadine Grapes
The problem with pesticides is not just the toxic chemicals getting into our food, the problem is they are changing the actual nutritional content of the food we eat. Red grapes and Muscadine Grapes that have been sprayed with pesticides produce much less resveratrol – there is no need for resveratrol if the pesticides are doing all the work.
Our Advice – Don’t Buy Any Resveratrol Supplements Unless You Know the Grapes Were Not Treated with Pesticides
When shopping for a trans-resveratrol supplement, you want to make sure the grapes used in the supplement were not treated with pesticides. Products such as the Perfect ResGrape Resveratrol have spec sheets to show that NO pesticides were used – this is EXACTLY what you want to see before buying any Resveratrol supplements.
by Dan-N on September 9, 2009
Think if you have seen one grape you have seen them all? You must have never seen the muscadine grape! Muscadine Grapes grown in not so exotic places like – Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama. These are not the type of places we normally find SuperFruits – but the research does not lie, Muscadines are super!
What Makes Muscadine Grapes Different?
Muscadine grapes are larger and stronger than traditional grapes – but the difference is not just skin deep (terrible pun intended). Muscadines actually have an extra pair of chromosomes. Normal grapes have 19 pairs of chromosomes, while Muscadine grapes have 20 chromosomes. It is believe that this extra set of chromosomes is what allows Muscadine grapes to produce phytochemicals that are not found in any other grape.
Ellagic Acid – the Secret Sauce in the Muscadine Grape
It is believed that the extra pair of chromosomes in the muscadine grapes is the reason that muscadines contain ellagic acid. Ellagic acid is not found in any other grape, so this is one of the reasons the muscadine grape is considered a super grape.
Why is Ellagic Acid so important? There are numerous studies underway investigating the role ellagic acid can play in cancer prevention. Ellagic acid may aide in chemoprevention. Chemoprevention is a term that means to chemically prevent cancer from occurring, growing or metastasizing. There is great interest in chemoprevention (not to be confused with chemotherapy) because it may be the best way to fight cancer, stop it from growing before it reaches a level that causes problems.
The NIH, Muscadine Grapes and Prostate Cancer
While many superfruits and supplements have sound logic behind them, they often do not have sound science to backup their claims. Muscadine grapes have incredible science to backup their claims…
“Although MSKE [muscadine grape skin extract] has significant inhibitory effects on the prostate cancer cell lines, it did not alter the growth variables of normal human primary prostate cells. This strongly suggests that the effects of MSKE may be specific for transformed cells, even at early stages, and that MSKE may be potentially very useful as a chemopreventive agent. Muscadine grape products, including grape juice (given 4 mL/kg twice daily for 14 days) and grape wine (given isocalorically at 240 mL/day) have been used in human studies without reported toxicities, further suggesting that MSKE may be relatively safe in clinical trials. Therefore, MSKE may be useful as a chemopreventive or therapeutic agent. Ongoing in vivo studies of MSKE will further address the potential effects of MSKE in preventing or inhibiting prostate cancer growth.“
National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Health Study
It is clear that the Muscadine grape has very strong science behind it.
What else can Muscadine Help With?
Muscadine is much more than just a great source of Ellagic acid. Muscadine grapes have 6 times the resveratrol as red grapes. In addition, muscadines have more antioxidants than red grapes and they are packed with phytonutrients. We will do a whole separate post on the health benefits of the muscadine grape – but in short it can help increase energy, regulate blood sugar, reduce free radicals, help the body build and repair, and increase mental clarity.
How Come Muscadine Grapes Are Not More Popular?
It is a sad secret of this industry, companies love selling fruits from far away places with mythical stories. Supplement companies want to tell you a small tribe lives in some remote rain forest and eats Super Berry X and they all live to be 130 years old.
Muscadine does not have the “sex” appeal of coming from an exotic land. What Muscadine does have is more science and clinical data than 99% of the superfruits being pushed on consumers. We will continue to explore the Muscadine grape and let you know what we find out.
Additional Resources:
Muscadine Wines – Can they StandUp to Traditional Wines?
Special Report on Muscadine Grapes
Special Report on Resveratrol
More Information on Perfect ResGrape Resveratrol – Whole Food Muscadine Supplement
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