Whether you use it for salad dressing, cooking, frying or even as a massage lotion, grape seed oil is beneficial to your health. Extracted from the seeds of vitis vinfera – otherwise known as red grapes – the oil is an abundant bi-product of wine making.
Grape seed oil is high in vitamin E, vitamin C, beta carotene and other antioxidants; which protect cells from unstable oxygen molecules that can ravage the body. It’s also rich in bioflavanoids called procyanadins; which can improve circulation and strengthen blood vessels. Grape seed oil is high in linoleic acid (Omega-3), an essential fatty acid that the body can’t produce. This oil can help raise HDL levels and reduce LDL levels; which is good news for those at risk of heart disease. It can help depress blood fat, emolliate blood vessels, lower blood pressure, ward off atherosclerosis and prevent thrombosis. Some studies have even shown the grape seed oil is beneficial for breast cancer, hair disorders, macular degeneration, pancreatitis and varicose veins
Grape seed extract is a more potent form of this therapeutic EFA, but it’s also more expensive. Grape seed oil, with its high smoke point and neutral taste, can easily be added to your kitchen pantry for daily use – aim for two tablespoons a day in your diet
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