Grapes

Grape - shrub with more or less twisted stems bearing small, round, green branches adorned with large, alternating and palm like leaves. The tiny flowers are grouped in a light green panicle. The fruit is a berry of variable color (from light green to deep blue depending on the variety) that contains between 5 and 10 seeds. A plant originally from good stock can live for 600 years!

Parts Used

Flowers, leaves, raw berries, seeds.

Uses

Grape leaves, especially the red leaves, are astringent and anti-inflammatory. They are taken as an infusion to treat diarrhea, heavy menstrual bleeding, and uterine hemorrhage, as a wash for canker sores, and as a douche for vaginal discharge. Red leaves and grapes are helpful in the treatment of varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and capillary fragility. The sap from the branches is used as an eyewash. Grapes are nourishing and mildly laxative, and they support the body through illness, especially of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. Because the nutrient content of grapes is close to that of blood plasma, grape fasts are recommended for detoxification. The dried fruit (raisins or sultanas) is mildly expectorant and emollient, with a slight effect in easing coughs. Wine vinegar is astringent, cooling, and soothing to the skin.
Other medical uses - Chronic venous insufficiency, Diabetic retinopathy, Kidney cancer, Lymphedema.

Habitat and Cultivation

Native to southern Europe and western Asia, grapes are cultivated in warm temperate regions throughout the world for their fruit and to produce wine. The leaves are collected in summer, the fruit in autumn.

Constituents

- Leaves, juice and small branches: flavonoids, tartaric salts, choline, inositol, beta-carotene, minerals (calcium, potassium), fiber, tannins, chlorophyll.
- Fruit: sugar, acids, pectin, pigments, vitamins A, B1, B2, B12, and C, ionized water (80%), trace elements. Seeds: anthocyanins, polyunsaturated oil.

Applications

The sap can be used directly on suppurating wounds or diluted in the same volume of boiling water to treat eye infections.
In a decoction: boil the fresh or dried leaves (1 leaf in 1 cup [250 ml] water). They are diuretic, excellent against cellulite and diarrhea, but especially tonic for the capillaries in the legs or the uterus; when used in a sit bath, or to bathe the hands or feet, the leaves are effective against circulatory blockages (hemorrhoids, varicose veins); in a poultice, they soothe headaches.
The grape represents one of the healthiest and most easily digested fruit. Grape makes it easier to tolerate fasting without suffering from hunger: it is, however, essential to choose organic fruit and, for sensitive stomachs, to spit out the pulp and pits, which act as a laxative and are indigestible.
Sulphur-free dried sultana raisins or currants soaked for several hours constitute a good pectoral: take before meals, 3 times daily.
Red grape juice without preservatives and unpasteurized is excellent for good health and contains as many flavonoids and antioxidant polyphenols as the fermented juice. As for the wine, although it lightens the heart, its dependence has caused much misfortune. However, a glass of good-quality wine every day can be healthy.
The crushed pips are a formidable source of immunostimulating agents, and their cold-pressed oil is among the recommended sources of fat.