If you like wine, there is a good chance you also like grapes: sugary, delicious and natural (just like our organic and biodynamic wines), grapes are a good option for calming hunger pangs without bringing up packaged foods full of additives and preservatives. However, as stated in the famous quote attributed to Alexander Woollcott: “everything good in life is either immoral, illegal or fattening“, so let’s find out what are the points against this food: are grapes bad for you?
The benefits of grapes
The vast majority of foods, especially unprocessed and natural ones, do not hurt unless they are prepared or processed in a particular way. It is no coincidence that a healthy diet generally includes natural foods, even better if prepared without too many additions or elaborations. Of course, this is also the case with grapes: a fruit with many beneficial properties that combines sweetness and taste with the lightness of a product that comes from nature in its entirety. Within these small fruits, whether we are talking of white or black grapes, there is a wealth of fibres and proteins that help not only to feel satisfied but even to lose weight; moreover, red grapes are known in the world of food thanks to their richness of resveratrol, which is an antioxidant and can, therefore, help us in the fight against high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases (in fact academic research has revealed how red wine can help to live longer) and even cancer.
A problem of quantity
So what about all the fuss about grapes being bad for your health? Is it false? Not really: if grapes are a truly genuine and positive food for our health, however, we should not exaggerate just because they are natural fruit. Especially because of their small size, it often happens that one does not realise how much of it he is eating, thus exaggerating. And as in any case, exaggeration leads to unwelcome effects, especially since each grape contains a high amount of natural sugars; let’s see together which:
- weight gain: we said that grapes can help in the diet thanks to its fibre content, however, we must not forget that it also contains a lot of sugar. For this reason, excessive consumption can lead to the opposite effect, namely that of gaining weight.
- Diarrhoea and constipation: the high fibre content of each grape can also lead to intestinal disorders and malfunctions, ultimately causing diarrhoea or constipation depending on the situation.
- Stomach pain and acidity: not everyone knows that eating large quantities of grapes on an empty stomach could be a bad idea because of its content of salicylic acid, a substance that causes stomach pain, and the fact that it can cause acidity in general.
- Bellyache: the ingestion of a large number of grapes can also cause abdominal ache due to the seeds of the fruit, which can be indigests for some.
- Allergy: the high consumption of grapes, albeit in rare cases, can also lead to annoying and risky allergies. This occurrence is caused by a particular protein and can lead to red spots on the skin.
How many grapes should you eat a day?
The solution? Eat grapes in the right quantities. But what does “right” mean? What is the ideal quantity of grapes to be consumed in a day?
According to nutritionists, the ideal quantity is a bowl of grapes per day at most, containing 30 to 40 fruits. By exceeding this quantity, we risk the negative effects of which we spoke above.
Are you a lover of grapes in all its forms? Then you have to taste our natural wines to savour the many Italian and French varieties in a genuine way. Take a look at our online catalogue, you won’t regret it!