Vineyards across the United States grow a variety of grapes—Muscadine being one of them. These sweet and fragrant grapes originate from the Southeastern region of the United States. Muscadine juice benefits are often not known to many.
It is a healthy beverage when consumed in moderation and is full of nutrients. These grapes are more nutritious than the other varieties of grapes, and aren’t as widely available as other varieties.
They contain twice as much vitamin C than seedless grapes. The skin of this grape is very thick, so it is often discarded. However, many of the health benefits of the muscadine grape lie in the skin.
Muscadine Juice Nutrition
Muscadine juice contains a higher number of calories compared to other juices. A six-ounce serving of the juice contains 105 calories while other fruits contain 70 to 90 calories.
The same serving size also contains 25 grams of carbohydrates, one gram of fiber and protein, and 23 grams of sugar. It also contains 35 milligrams of sodium and is considered a low-sodium food. High sodium intake can cause your body to retain fluids and increase blood pressure.
It also contains a good amount of resveratrol which prevents damage to blood vessels, reduces bad cholesterol, and prevents blood clots according to the Mayo Clinic.
Health Benefits of Muscadine Juice
Here are some of the enormous health benefits of muscadine juice.
1. Weight Control
Muscadine juice has a high water content and contains fiber. Without increasing your caloric intake, it helps keep you full longer than other liquids by delaying gastric emptying. It’s a great snack when you are craving sugar. They can be eaten whole, or make a good dessert when combined with cheese and nuts.
You can put them into your green salad, or de-seed them to make a grape salsa for fish, poultry or meat. The chopped muscadines can be added to rice, quinoa and other whole-grain dishes.
2. Disease Prevention
The fruit has a high amount of antioxidants which helps protect cells from free-radical damage.
Antioxidant-rich foods help reduce the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and other chronic diseases
3. Bowel Regularity
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these grapes contain seven grams of fiber from a serving of 35 muscadines. Their edible seeds and relatively thick skins make them high in insoluble fiber. The fiber promotes bowel regularity and helps prevent hemorrhoids, constipation, and diverticulitis. A single muscadine has as much fiber as five seedless grapes.
A study published in the Free Radical Biology and Medicine shows that these grapes can slow or prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration.
Side Effects of Muscadine Juice
Rich in antioxidants, Muscadine grapes are beneficial to health in numerous ways. So much so that Muscadine grape seed extract are used to make many health supplements too. However, Muscadine grapes juice or the seed extract may have certain side effects too. Usually, Muscadine grapes are more advantageous to health than a hazard; yet one cannot be 100 percent sure that it’s harmless.
Some of the side effects of Muscadine juice includes nausea, indigestion, increased blood pressure, itchy scalp, dizziness, headache, and hives. Other adverse side effects are-
1. Medication interference:
Muscadine grape juice or supplements may interfere with blood-thinning medication like warfarin. Consuming Muscadine grape juice or supplements will boost the effectiveness of blood thinner drugs.
Therefore, consult a physician before taking Muscadine grapes with anticoagulant medications. Furthermore, Muscadine juice could interact with other drugs like NSAID painkillers (like aspirin, Advil, and Aleve), certain heart medicines, cancer treatments, and others.
According to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Muscadine grapes might meddle with the action of enzymes like P450 3A4 and UGT. Using Muscadine seed extract medications that require the aforementioned enzymes for breakdown could lead to side effects and reduce the effectiveness of the drug.
2. Increase blood pressure:
According to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, hypertensive individuals must avoid drinking Muscadine grapes juice with vitamin C supplements. It has been found that drinking Muscadine grapes juice with vitamin C supplements simultaneously could increase blood pressure.
3. Other concerns:
People with grape allergies should refrain from drinking Muscadine juice. Individuals with liver or kidney disease and pregnant or nursing women should also stay away from Muscadine juice or the seed extract supplements.
How to Make Muscadine Juice
Knowing the benefits of this little fruit, you may want to incorporate them into your healthy diet. Here are two easy-to-make muscadine juice recipes for you to try.
1. Easy Muscadine Juice Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs muscadine grapes
- 1⁄4 cup sugar
Directions:
Wash and de-stem the grapes and place them in a sterilized jar. Add one tablespoon of sugar to a pint jar or two tablespoons to a quart jar.
Fill the jar with boiling water. Add lids and rings and tighten. Place the jar in a hot water bath for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
Store the jar for two to three weeks. Strain the juice and grapes through a cheesecloth-lined colander into a clean bowl.
Enjoy the chilled juice or use it for making jelly. Makes 2 glasses.
2. Other Muscadine Juice Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3-1/2 pounds of muscadine grapes for 1 quart of juice
- Sugar, to taste (you can substitute sugar with other sweeteners like honey, agave, stevia or Splenda)
Directions:
Sanitize the jars by boiling them for 10 minutes. Keep the jars in hot water until they are used.
Crush or chop the grapes and put them in a pot. Add enough water to the pot to cover the grapes. Put the pot over medium to high heat and keep stirring until it starts to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes to soften the skins.
Pass the juice through a juice strainer or a cheesecloth in a colander. For a more fibrous juice, rather than straining it, you can let it stand for 20 minutes and then use the liquid. Discard the solids.
Add sugar and bring the juice to a boil. Pour it in a jar and seal it. Place the jars into the boiling water canner. Keep the jars covered with at least two inches of water. Keep the water boiling. For pints or quart-sized jars, boil for five minutes.
Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool. Check if the jar is sealed by pressing at the center of the jar. It must not make a sound.
Put the jar in the refrigerator or in a cool and dark place. You can store them for 12 months.
Muscadine juice can be enjoyed by all age groups. Muscadine juice health benefits make it superior to all other juices.
Related:
- Orange Juice Benefits, Nutrition Facts & Calories
- 10 Benefits of Pomegranate Juice
- 10 Avocado Juice Benefits, Recipes and Possible Side Effects
- Blueberry Juice: Nutrition Facts, Benefits & Healthy Recipes
Sources:
“Effect of Muscadine Grape Seed Supplementation on Vascular Function,” US National Library of Medicine; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3313487/, last accessed Jan 18, 2017.
“Recent Advances and Uses of Grape Flavonoids as Nutraceuticals,” US National Library of Medicine; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3916869/, last accessed Jan 18, 2017.
