Concord Grape Juice: Great Taste for a Healthy Heart
Concord grape juice is a great way to celebrate American Heart Month in February. It has a rich taste, is loaded with powerful antioxidants, and can help promote a healthy heart in many ways.
Scientific research for well over a decade has suggested that Concord grape juice promotes healthy arteries, contributing to healthy circulation and healthy blood pressure. Like red wine, Concord grape juice is loaded with protective natural antioxidants-called polyphenols or flavonoids-and provides many of the same heart-healthy benefits.
How does this happen? Studies have shown that one way Concord grape juice promotes healthy arteries is by stimulating the production of nitric oxide which promotes relaxed, flexible arteries. Flexible arteries allow for increased blood flow when needed such as during physical exercise or sexual activity. So a great, thirst-quenching energy booster before and after exercise is a refreshing Concord spritzer, with equal parts of Concord grape juice and seltzer over ice.
Concord grape juice also appears to minimize the damaging effects of the bad form of cholesterol known as LDL, and by doing so helps keep the arteries clear so blood can flow freely to wherever it is needed in the body.
Besides promoting a healthy heart, Concord grape juice has many other health benefits as well. But the best thing about Concord grape juice is that it's NOT medicine-it's a natural, delicious beverage that appeals to all ages and is great to use in many recipes.
The Concord grape growers of New York State want to share the health benefits of the product they're so proud of, so they've created a special web site-www.healthyconcordgrapes.com-where you can find out more about the health benefits as well as some wonderful recipes using the power of purple.
Start your heart-healthy morning with a gorgeous, light purple Concord Grape Shake combining Concord grape juice with nonfat yogurt. For dinner, try Upstate New York State Chicken followed by Concord Poached Pears for dessert. Experiment with your own creations using Concord grape juice in the glass or on the table.
Concord grape juice is also healthy for New York State's economy. Of the 34,000 acres of grapes grown in New York, about two-thirds are Concord, with an annual grape harvest exceeding 100,000 tons each year. The vast majority of Concords are used for grape juice processed by cooperatives such as National Grape Cooperative Association (owners of Welch's) and Growers Cooperative, which are actually owned by the growers themselves. In other words, the products and the companies are truly "local".
The Concord grape and grape juice industry is also an important part of the overall grape, grape juice and wine industry which contributes over $3.4 billion annually to New York State's economy, and over $162 billion to the national economy. In western New York alone, where most Concords are grown, the industry contributes $141 million to the regional economy.
The annual Concord harvest in September and October is a very special time. Large clusters of deep blue Concord grapes release their aromas throughout the countryside, where giant mechanical harvesters gather the ripe fruit for delivery to the processing facilities. The 2007 grape harvest, following a year of excellent weather, was one of the best ever, and so is the Concord grape juice that resulted.
Treat your heart to a tasteful treat: Concord grape juice.
Media Contact: Jim Trezise, President, New York Wine & Grape Foundation, 585-394-3620, jimtrezise@nywgf.org