Are Grape Seeds Edible? – Our Guide!

If you’ve ever popped to the supermarket to buy grapes, you might have come across both seeded and seedless varieties and wondered if you can eat the seeds of grapes? 

Grape seeds can indeed be eaten but do have a bitter taste, this is why many people prefer to buy seedless varieties or spit the seed out when buying grapes which have their small seed inside of them.

We’ve made a small guide below which will take you through if grape seeds are safe to eat, how to eat them, what grape seed extract is and some benefits of them.

Are Grape Seeds Safe To Eat? 

Grape seeds are not as popular as eating the grapes themselves, however, these seeds are indeed edible. Grape seeds are a rich source of antioxidants and have a crunchy bitter taste, this is why most people choose to remove them or buy seedless versions. 

The only people who should avoid eating grape seeds are people who are on blood thinning medication, this is because lab study results have shown that grape seeds can naturally thin the blood, although you would need to have a large amount to this happen.

Having one or a couple of grape seeds is unlikely to cause any harm. 

How Do You Eat Grape Seeds? 

If you’ve never eaten grape seeds before, you might be wondering how to eat them, do you just simply chew them or swallow them? 

To eat grape seeds think of them as hard candy, you would suck them to get the flavour out of the seeds then either spit them out, crunch them or swallow them, they are a great source of antioxidants which is why many people choose to eat. 

What Is Grape Seed Extract? 

A popular dietary supplement made out of grape seeds is grape seed extract. This extract is made by taking the grape seeds out of the fruit, drying them then pulverizing them. 

This extract is full of antioxidants and may even help blood flow in people when added to the diet. 

Seedless Vs Seeded Grapes – Which Is Better For You?

Many of us opt for seedless grapes rather than seeded grapes for ease of eating but in terms of nutrition, which is more beneficial for our diets? 

Seeded grapes are more nutritionally dense than seedless options, offering more vitamins and minerals, but they are harder for our digestive system to break down.

Here’s an in-depth explanation of Seedless Grapes vs Seeded Grapes. Read this!

Benefits Of Consuming Grape Seeds/Grape Seed Extract

The benefits of grape seed extract and including grape seeds in our diet are vast, we’ve listed the health benefits you can get from including these fruits and seeds in your diet down below. 

• Full of antioxidants – LDL is also known as bad cholesterol, due to the antioxidants in GSE they can help fight off free radicals and disease.
• Helps with blood flow – Taking GSE can help with blood flow in the body, it has been proven in postmenopausal women that taking GSE can help to prevent blood clots.
• Reduces blood pressure – Consuming 1000mg-2000mg of GSE has been proven to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure in people due to the blood flow and blood thinning effects.
• Antifungal properties – GSE helps not only fight oxidative stress but can also inhibit the growth of food-borne bacteria thanks to its anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. The grape nuts can also be used to fight candida. Learn more here in this article we made for you to have a better understanding of grape nuts, Are Grape Nuts Healthy?
• Promotes brain health – The Flavonoids in flesh grapes nuts are proven to help delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases, this is due to something called gallic acid in the extract, research is limited, however.
• Can help with bone health – As grape seed oil is rich in flavonoids, the seeds of grapes might be able to help with collagen growth and bone formation in the body making you stronger over time.
• Fights cancer – The flavonoids and proanthocyanidins antioxidants in grape seed might be able to fight off forms of cancer in the body, more research needs to be done however to make these properties more transferable in the body.

Last Words

Overall, the seeds of grapes are safe to eat and more commonly consumed as grape seed oil or grape seed extract, this is because the compounds in grape seed are very beneficial to your health, being full of antioxidants. 

Do take caution when consuming grape seeds if you are on blood thinning medication since these seeds can thin the blood they improve blood flow, always consume within moderation.