Unusual type of red wine could make your skin look younger as study suggests it can improve the elasticity of skin in middle-aged and older women

A glass of unusual red wine can make women’s skin look younger.

One study asked 17 women ages 40 to 67 to drink two glasses of muscadine wine — made from grapes native to the southeastern US. It was found to improve skin elasticity, which is lost as we age, indicating an anti-aging effect.

However, the alcohol has been removed from the wine, so a glass of regular alcoholic muscadine wine may not work this way.

Muscadine wines are also extremely hard to find in the UK where red wines are usually made from a European grape variety and people prefer a merlot or cabernet sauvignon.

But it raises hope for a new way to tackle the ravages of aging, using natural plant compounds called polyphenols from the grapes used to make wine.

Dr. Lindsey Christman, a co-author of the study from the University of Florida, said: ‘Muscadine grapes appear to have a unique polyphenolic profile compared to other red wine varieties.

“Our study suggests that polyphenols from muscadine wine have the potential to improve skin conditions, particularly elasticity and transepidermal water loss, in middle-aged and older women.”

Researchers recruited 17 middle-aged women and randomly assigned them to drink alcohol-free muscadine wine or a drink that looked and tasted similar but did not contain polyphenols.

For six weeks, the participants drank 300 milliliters, equivalent to two glasses of wine, of their assigned drink every day.

Then they took a three-week break before switching to the other drink for six weeks.

When women drank the wine, they showed significant improvements in their skin’s elasticity and water retention.

A loss of elasticity causes the skin to slacken more as we age, and better water retention suggests that the skin has a more effective barrier against damage.

However, the wine was not associated with a significant difference in the amount of wrinkles on the skin, according to findings that will be presented at NUTRITION 2023, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition.

Previous studies have suggested that polyphenols in muscadine wine, including anthocyanins, quercetin and ellagic acid, may help reduce inflammation.

They can also reduce oxidative stress – the skin-damaging imbalance between harmful substances called free radicals produced by processes in the body and the body’s ability to destroy them using its natural antioxidant system.

But the new study found no significant difference in inflammation, oxidative stress or skin smoothness when women drank wine.

Since the trial involved only 17 volunteers and has not yet been fully published or reviewed by other scientists, more research is needed.