A new study found that snacking on grapes could add up to five years to your life, protect against Alzheimer’s disease, and help prevent non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or NAFLD.

According to Study Finds, scientists at Western New England University called their results “astonishing.” Grapes are superfoods because they contain chemicals that boost gut bacteria and lower cholesterol. They are also rich in antioxidants that lower inflammation, reducing the risk for heart disease and cancer.

The researchers found that eating grapes could reverse the negative effects of eating junk food by flushing the refined fats and sugars in processed foods out of the body. The investigation was funded in part by the California Table Grape Commission, who also provided the grapes used in the study.

In a Western New England University news release, study author Dr. John Pezzuto said that while food is converted to all our body parts, the study now shows that foods, like grapes, can change the genetic expression and preventing or delaying disease and death.

For example, fatty liver disease, which affects 25% of the world’s population, and can lead to liver cancer, can be prevented or delayed with increased levels of grape-supplemented diets. The genes responsible for the development of fatty liver were altered in a beneficial way by grape consumption. Pezzuto says that taking antioxidant supplements cannot achieve this level of genetic expression.

The researchers found that mice fed a high-fat western-type diet were at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease. Adding grapes to their diet delayed natural death. Pezzuto acknowledged that while it is not an exact science translating the lifespan of mice into human terms, he estimated that the consumption of grapes would add four to five years in the life of a human.

In previously published studies, Pezzuto and his team found that adding grapes to the diet of mice changed the genetic expression in their brains. Grape consumption had a positive effect on behavior and cognition that were impaired by eating a high-fat diet. The team also found that grapes improved the function of neurons, protecting against Alzheimer’s disease.

“The adverse response was diminished by grape intervention,” said Pezzuto. “Life-long survival was also enhanced. These results suggest the potential of dietary grapes to modulate gene expressions, prevent oxidative damage, induce fatty acid metabolism, ameliorate NAFLD, and increase longevity when co-administered with a high-fat diet.”