About Grapes
Grape
- shrub with more or less twisted stems bearing small, round, green branches
adorned with large, alternating and palm like leaves. The tiny flowers are
grouped in a light green panicle. The fruit is a berry of variable color (from
light green to deep blue depending on the variety) that contains between 5 and
10 seeds. A plant originally from good stock can live for 600 years!
Parts Used
Flowers, leaves, raw berries, seeds.
Uses
Grape leaves, especially the red leaves, are astringent and anti-inflammatory.
They are taken as an infusion to treat diarrhea, heavy menstrual bleeding, and
uterine hemorrhage, as a wash for canker sores, and as a douche for vaginal
discharge. Red leaves and grapes are helpful in the treatment of varicose veins,
hemorrhoids, and capillary fragility. The sap from the branches is used as an
eyewash. Grapes are nourishing and mildly laxative, and they support the body
through illness, especially of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. Because the
nutrient content of grapes is close to that of blood plasma, grape fasts are
recommended for detoxification. The dried fruit (raisins or sultanas) is mildly
expectorant and emollient, with a slight effect in easing coughs. Wine vinegar
is astringent, cooling, and soothing to the skin.
Other medical uses - Chronic venous insufficiency, Diabetic retinopathy, Kidney
cancer, Lymphedema.
Habitat and Cultivation
Native to southern Europe and western Asia, grapes are cultivated in warm
temperate regions throughout the world for their fruit and to produce wine. The
leaves are collected in summer, the fruit in autumn.
Constituents
- Leaves, juice and small branches: flavonoids, tartaric salts, choline,
inositol, beta-carotene, minerals (calcium, potassium), fiber, tannins,
chlorophyll.
- Fruit: sugar, acids, pectin, pigments, vitamins A, B1, B2, B12, and C, ionized
water (80%), trace elements. Seeds: anthocyanins, polyunsaturated oil.
Applications
The sap can be used directly on suppurating wounds or diluted in the same volume
of boiling water to treat eye infections.
In a decoction: boil the fresh or dried leaves (1 leaf in 1 cup [250 ml] water).
They are diuretic, excellent against cellulite and diarrhea, but especially
tonic for the capillaries in the legs or the uterus; when used in a sit bath, or
to bathe the hands or feet, the leaves are effective against circulatory
blockages (hemorrhoids, varicose veins); in a poultice, they soothe headaches.
The grape represents one of the healthiest and most easily digested fruit. Grape
makes it easier to tolerate fasting without suffering from hunger: it is,
however, essential to choose organic fruit and, for sensitive stomachs, to spit
out the pulp and pits, which act as a laxative and are indigestible.
Sulphur-free dried sultana raisins or currants soaked for several hours
constitute a good pectoral: take before meals, 3 times daily.
Red grape juice without preservatives and unpasteurized is excellent for good
health and contains as many flavnoids and antioxidant polyphenols as the
fermented juice. As for the wine, although it lightens the heart, its dependence
has caused much misfortune. However, a glass of good-quality wine every day can
be healthy.
The crushed pips are a formidable source of immunostimulating agents, and their
cold-pressed oil is among the recommended sources of fat.
Recommended Product
4Life® RioVida with Transfer Factor Açai Berry
Juice
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