Because of its many health-promoting properties, grape seed extract (GSE) is often called a “miracle remedy.” For centuries, the leaves and fruit of the grapevine have been used in Greece for healing a variety of ailments.

According to Dallas Clouatre, Ph.D., in his book, All About Grape Seed Extract, GSE helps fight “allergies, arthritis, diabetes, heart and blood-vessel disorders and vision problems.” In the United States, GSE is perceived as merely a food supplement and is not nearly as well-known as it is in many European countries. Physicians overseas recommend GSE for cardiovascular disease, water retention, varicose veins, collagen damage, arthritis and skin conditions.

And the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine indicates that GSE can help fight high blood pressure, high cholesterol and poor circulation. Plus, it contains antioxidants that can help fight free radical damage to your cells that could possibly lead to cancer.

For these reasons, there are “very few items in the nutritional arsenal [that] can boast as many and varied potential benefits as grape seed extract can,” Clouatre indicated.