Grapes
Grapes were the first things Noah planted after the flood. Grapes were eaten fresh, dried
and eaten as raisins just as we do today and pressed into cakes. But most of the crop of
the vineyards was made into juice, wine and vinegar.
One reason this delicious fruit was so important in the diet thousands of years ago was
because of its high content of boron, a mineral that we now know helps ward off
osteoporosis. Boron is now sold as a dietary supplement in health food stores, but the
people of the Bible had to get theirs from natural sources.
Aside from preventing osteoporosis, grapes offer many healthy benefits. A cup of raw
grapes contain only 58 calories, 0.3 grams of fat; zero cholesterol and vitamins A, B and
C. Grapes also contain important minerals such as boron, calcium, potassium and zinc.
They also fight tooth decay, stop viruses in their tracks and are rich in other ingredients
that many researchers believe can head off cancer. That’s because grapes are packed
with things called polyphenols and tannins, both of which appear promising as antiviral
and anti tumor agents.
Recently, a team of Canadian scientist reported that grapes destroyed disease-causing
viruses in test tubes. To test that potential, they examined grapes, grape juice, raisins and
red, rose and white wines. They added certain viruses to a grape extract made from pulp
and skins; other viruses to the grape juice and raisin mixture; and a third set of viruses to
the wines.
All three substances seemed to effectively fight the viruses, but they were especially
potent against the viruses that cause polio and herpes simplex. The reason is because
grapes contain tannin, a virus fighter that is absorbed directly into the intestinal tract
where it does the most good.
The grape tannins can survive digestion and quickly circulate through the blood, perhaps
attacking deadly viruses. Grape juice also kills bacteria and dramatically restricts tooth
decay.
Grapes also have extraordinarily high levels of something called caffeic acid, which has
been shown to be a strong anti-cancer substance. And raisins, which are dried grapes,
were definitely associated with the reduced rate of cancer deaths among one group of
American senior citizens.
In biblical days, grapes provided all of these health benefits. People didn’t know what the
grapes did – they just knew that they were equally delicious eaten raw right off the vines,
dried as raisins, boiled down into a sweet grape honey or fermented into wine.
