Grapes are great for diets. Not only are they low in calories, but they contain a large amount of water, which helps you feel full so that you don’t overeat. This makes grapes an excellent choice of fruit to snack on while you are watching your weight. But just how many calories do grapes have in them? Well, it depends on the type of grape.
American (slip skin) grapes have 62 calories per cup while European grapes such as Thompson seedless have around 110 calories per cup. That is quite a difference, but either way one cup of grapes will not cost you enough calories to ruin your diet. However, if you want a few more calories to use for other foods, you should opt for American grape varieties. These grapes have fewer calories per cup because you do not eat the skins. Instead, you slip the skin off and eat just the inside fruit.
If you prefer to eat slip skin grapes with the skins, you can do so, but remember that the calorie count given above does not include the skins so if you choose to eat slip skin grapes with the skins on, the number of calories will be roughly the same as the European style grapes, which are generally eat with their skins on. Many varieties of American grapes have bitter-tasting skins, so you most people prefer to eat just the fruit.
Besides being low in calories, grapes have been shown to reduce to risk of heart disease. There is evidence that grapes may also help prevent lung cancer, reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and possibly even slow down the aging process. These claims require further research to be certain of what role, if any, grapes play in preventing these diseases.
It is believed that most of the health benefits of grapes come from three types of polyphenols found in grapes. These are flavonoids, phonolic acid and resveratrol. The highest concentration of these phytonutrients is found in the stems, seeds and skins of grapes, not in the juicy flesh, so if you want to receive the maximum health benefits from eating grapes you should definitely eat the skins.
Even though nearly 44% of the calories in grapes come from the skins, whole grapes are still a very low-calorie snack that will help you keep from overeating on other foods. With so many health benefits attributed to the phytonutrients in the skin of the grape, it makes sense to enjoy grapes whole, even if it means a few extra calories.
