Your blood sugar will be sure to salute you this Independence Day if you grill up some of this: eggplant.

Purple-skinned eggplant is full of phenols that help your body better use blood sugar. And that's great, because you don't need extra blood sugar running around. Too much in the bloodstream could wreak havoc with your organs. But that's not all eggplant's got . . .

More Phenol Superpowers
In addition to favorable effects on blood sugar, eggplant's supercharged phenols may also inhibit an enzyme tied to high blood pressure. Plus, the phenols have antioxidant actions.
Go purple power! (Read this past tip on foods that pair well with eggplant for cholesterol control.)

Ways to Do Eggplant Right
Yup, eggplant sure is one heck of a disease fighter -- and it's quite versatile to boot. You can feature it in a crowd-pleasing main course with this EatingWell recipe: Grilled Eggplant Panini. Or use it as the base for a yummy starter with this Roasted Eggplant Dip recipe from EatingWell.

Find more eggplant recipes in the RealAge Recipe Box.

In vitro studies of eggplant (Solanum melongena) phenolics as inhibitors of key enzymes relevant for type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Kwon, Y. I. et al., Bioresource Technology 2008 May;99(8):2981-2988.

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