Age like fine wine: Could drinking wine help keep the wrinkles at bay?

Scientists have delivered news that wine lovers across the globe will no doubt raise a glass to– a specific type of wine could boost your skin’s health.

Researchers from the University of Florida have found that muscadine wines, made from muscadine grapes native to the US, can help prevent sagging skin by retaining its elasticity and water.

This is the first of its kind randomised clinical trial that studied the effects of non-alcoholic wine on skin health.

“We used de-alcoholised muscadine wine because we were interested in the effect of the bioactive compounds in wine, specifically the polyphenols, on skin health,” said food scientist and study co-author Dr Lindsey Christman.

According to Healthline, polyphenols are a type of plant compound that “is thought to boost digestion and brain health and protect against heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even certain cancers.”

The research involved 17 women aged 40 to 67, who were separated into two groups. One group was asked to drink two glasses of de-alcoholised muscadine wine every day for six weeks, while the others had a placebo wine that did not contain polyphenols.

Researchers discovered that drinking de-alcoholised muscadine wine led to a notable reduction in transepidermal water loss on the face compared to the initially collected data.

The participants also showed improved skin elasticity after consuming the de-alcoholised muscadine wine compared to the placebo group.

However, researchers have acknowledged that they were unable to observe any major difference in terms of wrinkles or skin smoothness between the two groups.

This isn’t the first study that’s looked into the relationship between wine and our health. A couple of years ago, a study published in the American Heart Association journal, found a link between lower blood pressure and a higher intake of foods rich in flavonoids.

The researchers found study participants who had the highest intake of flavonoid-rich foods, including berries, red wine, apples and pears, had lower systolic blood pressure levels, as well as greater diversity in their gut microbiome.

For example, they found drinking 2.8 glasses (125ml of wine per glass) of red wine a week was associated with an average of 3.7mm Hg (millilitres of mercury) lower systolic blood pressure level. They also found eating 1.6 servings of berries per day (one serving equals 80 grams or one cup) was associated with an average reduction in systolic blood pressure levels of 4.1mm Hg.

But that’s not all, a team of researchers from the University College London found people with heart disease who drank up to 15 grams of booze a day — around half a pint or half a glass of wine — had a lower risk of recurrent heart attack, stroke, angina and death.

But before you go off and start stocking up on the booze, as with all things, alcohol consumption should be within moderation.

According to the National Health and Medical Research Council, we should focus on no more than 10 standard drinks a week with a maximum of four on any one day.

A “standard drink” contains 10 grams of pure alcohol, which roughly equates to 285ml of full-strength beer, a can of mid-strength beer, 100ml of wine, or a single shot of spirits.