Grape and Melon Salad - Healthy Food Tip and Recipe

Today's Recipe

If you don't know what to serve for dinner tonight ...

Take advantage of the fruits that are in season and satisfy your sweet tooth by enjoying this summer salad that takes only minutes to prepare. If you select red/purple grapes you will get the added benefit of the phytonutrient, reservatrol, which has been found to be a powerful antioxidant.

Grape and Melon Salad

Prep and Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb seedless grapes
• 1 cantaloupe, scooped out with melon baller
• 2 cups of seedless watermelon, scooped out with melon baller
• 1/2 cup whole peppermint leaves
• 2 TBS lemon juice

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together. Toss with whole peppermint leaves and refrigerate for a couple hours. Remove leaves and serve.

Serves 4 Printer Friendly Version of Grape and Melon Salad
In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Grape and Melon Salad

Healthy Food Tip

The Latest News About Grapes

Grapes that are eaten as is or used in a recipe are called table grapes and as opposed to wine grapes (used in viniculture) or raisin grapes (used to make dried fruit). While table, wine, and raisin grapes come from the same family (Vitaceae) and genus (Vitis) of plant, there are about 60 different species of this plant type, and within these 60 species, there are literally thousands of grape varieties.
While we often think about the Mediterranean as the home for all grapes, this amazing food is actually native to many parts of the world, including regions in Asia, Africa, and North America. From a botanical standpoint, one of the most widely cultivated table and wine grapes is Vitis vinifera (Common Grape Vine), and several thousand varieties of this grape exist across Europe. In the United States, native species of Vitis grapes include Vitis labrusca (which includes the Concord grape) and Vitis rotundifolia (which includes the muscadine grapes).

What's New and Beneficial About Grapes

• Grapes have long been classified as a low glycemic index (GI) food, with GI values ranging between 43-53. But having a low GI value is not necessarily the same as having blood sugar benefits. In the case of grapes, recent studies have shown that the low GI value of grapes is also a good indicator of this fruit's blood sugar benefits. Better blood sugar balance, better insulin regulation, and increased insulin sensitivity have now been connected with intake of grape juices, grape extracts, and individual phytonutrients found in grapes.
• Several grape phytonutrients are now believed to play a role in longevity. At the top of the list in this area of research is resveratrol (a stilbene phytonutrient present mostly in grape skins, but also in grape seeds and grape flesh). Resveratrol has recently been shown to increase expression of three genes all related to longevity. (These three genes are SirT1s, Fox0s, and PBEFs.) Interestingly, some researchers have shown a parallel between activation of these longevity genes by resveratrol and activation by calorie-restricted diets. In aging and longevity research, our ability to get optimal nutrition for the fewest possible amount of calories is related to our longevity, and the more we can decrease our calories while staying optimally nourished, the better our chances of healthy aging and longevity.
• The 2011 edition of the Shopper's Guide to Pesticides by the Environmental Working Group has once again identified conventionally grown grapes as one of most problematic fruits and vegetables in terms of pesticide residues. There's new evidence that pesticide residues can be successfully avoided by purchase of certified organic grapes. In a recent study of 99 vineyards in the Aegean Sea area of the Mediterranean, pesticide residues were found on conventionally grown table grapes, but were determined to be undetectable on grapes that had been organically grown. This new evidence adds to our confidence about the added health benefits of selecting organically grown grapes.

WHFoods Recommendations

In our Healthiest Way of Eating Plan, we encourage the consumption of 5-10 servings of fruits-plus-vegetables (combined) eat day. We believe that the balance between fruits and vegetables can vary from day to day, depending upon personal health factors, personal taste preferences, and optimal combining of foods in recipes as well as meals. We recognize that our recommendation calls for a more generous amount of fruits and vegetables than the amount recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The CDC recommends between 1.5-2.5 cups of fruit and 2.5-4.0 cups of vegetables per day, as well as a target goal of at least 5 fruit-plus-vegetable servings (combined) per day. We recommend that you set your fruit goals higher than these CDC amounts. Based on the scientific research, we believe it's going to take closer to 3 fruit servings per day (consisting of one cup's worth of fruit per serving, or 3 cups total per day) to provide you with optimum health benefits.
With respect to berries (and remembering that grapes are included among the berry fruits), we recommend that you include berries at least 3-4 times per week within your fruit servings. In several of our sample meal plans, we include berries on a daily basis! It would definitely not be a mistake for you to include a serving of either grapes, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cranberries or other berries in your daily meal plan! When you're including grapes among your daily fruit servings, you should treat one cup as the equivalent of approximately 15-20 grapes. In practice, what this means is that on any given day, if you decide that you would like to consume all 3 of your fruit servings from this delicious food, you can feel confident enjoying up to 45-60 grapes! On another day, if you are primarily in the mood for other kinds of fresh fruit, there is still plenty of room within this 3-serving range to include so me fresh grapes on a salad, or enjoy a small cluster along with a snack.

Health Benefits

Grapes provide numerous health benefits including:

• Antioxidant benefits
• Anti-inflammatory benefits
• Cardiovascular benefits
• Blood sugar benefits
• Anti-aging and longevity benefits
• Cognitive benefits
• Anti-microbial protection
• Anti-cancer support

For more details on grapes' health benefits, see this section of our grapes write-up.

Nutritional Profile

Grapes are an outstanding source of phytonutrients, especially phenols and polyphenols. The phytonutrients in grapes can differ not only due to growing conditions but also from species to species and variety to variety. Taken as a group, grapes offer phytonutrients in 5 basic categories: flavanols and flavonols (both flavonoids); phenolic acids; stilbenes; and carotneoids. Grape flavonoids include catechins, epicatechins, procyanidins, quercetin, and petunidin. Grape phenolic acids include coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and gallic acid. Stilbenes in grapes include resveratrol, piceatannol, and pterostilbene. The carotenoids beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin are also provided in valuable amounts in many varieties of grape. Grapes are excellent sources of free radical-scavenging manganese and good sources of heart-healthy vitamin B6 and potassium, energy-producing thiamin (vitamin B1), and immune-supportive vitamin C.
For more on this nutrient-rich fruit, including references related to this Latest News, see our write-up on grapes.