New research suggests drinking red grape juice or wine could improve the health of overweight people by helping them burn fat better.

According to scientists at Oregon State University, ellagic acid retards the growth of fat cells, and slows down the formation of new ones. It also boosts the metabolism of fatty acids in the liver.

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Consuming dark-colored grapes, whether eating them or drinking juice or wine, might help people better manage obesity and related metabolic disorders such as fatty liver.

Ellagic acid, one of the chemicals found in grapes, proved particularly potent: It dramatically slowed the growth of existing fat cells and formation of new ones, and it boosted metabolism of fatty acids in liver cells.

In one 10-week trial, scientists fed high-fat "mouse chow" to mice. Half were also given extracts from Pinot noir grapes. The chubby mice that ate the grape extracts stored less liver fat and had lower blood sugar than mice that had only the fatty diet. The latter group also had higher levels of proteins known to metabolize fat and sugar in cells.

The plant chemicals are not a weight-loss miracle, however.

"We didn't find, and we didn't expect to, that these compounds would improve body weight. If we could develop a dietary strategy for reducing the harmful accumulation of fat in the liver, using common foods like grapes that would be good news," said researcher Neil Shay.

The goal of the study wasn't to replace needed medications but to guide people in choosing common, widely available foods that have particular health benefits, including boosting metabolic function.

Details of the study were published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.

TagsRed wine, alcoholic beverages, fat, calories, burn calories, losing weight, Weight Loss, fat burning, wine, grapes