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White Grapes: Lower in Antioxidants?

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It is true that not all fruits are created equal. The problem with the antioxidant content in fruit is the fact that the antioxidant compounds are responsible for the coloration of the fruits. Fruit that is light colored both inside and out are often missing the genetic marker that makes the pigmentation antioxidant and therefore are indeed lower in antioxidants. Actually, only the flavanols (called catechins in this case) are the most present phenolic in white grapes.

The benefit of white grapes or the “green” grape is that it is still a healthy snack and white grapes have fiber- but if you are looking to beef up on antioxidants, it would be best to grab a handful of purple grapes for certain.

What about White Wine?

Grapes that are available commercially can usually be described as either wine or table grapes, dependant on how they were bred to be eaten: if raw (table grapes) or if they will be crushed to make wine (wine grapes). It is true that they are same species, (Vitis vinifera) wine and table grapes are vastly different from each other by design.

Grapes made for eating are thin skinned and big, while grapes meant to be made into wine are thickly skinned because the wonderful smells come from the skins of the wine grape. The often have seeds in them.

The problem for white wines is that white wines are fermented without the grape’s skin while red wines are fermented before the skins are removed. The only flavonol present in white grapes is in the skin, making white wine completely lacking of antioxidants.

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