Raise Your Glasses: Can Red Wine Really Make You Look Younger?

It’s one of the wine lover’s favourite facts, a glass of red wine a day can improve your health. Now, according to studies, it seems that red wine can improve your appearance too.

According to dermatologist Leslie Baumann, red wine is good for the skin, as it contains two powerful antioxidants, grape-seed extract and resveratrol.

What’s So Great About Resveratrol?
In 2008, scientists at the University of Wisconsin studied the effects of resveratrol. Their research tested the antioxidant on mice. One group of rodents was given resveratrol, the other was not. The results were significant. Both groups of mice were the same age, but the group that had been given resveratrol were much more mobile and agile than the other group.

However, before you reach for the bottle opener, it’s important to note that the researchers were unclear as to exactly how much wine would need to be consumed in order to enjoy the benefits. Professor Richard Weinruch, author of the study, admits: ‘The precise number of glasses of wine or bottles of wine are difficult to predict.’

Why Drink it, When You Can Bathe in it?
According to Les Sources De Caudalie spa, located deep within the vineyards of a chateau near Bordeaux, the best way to get the anti-aging benefits of wine is to wash yourself in it. The spa, which is the first ‘vinotherapy’ centre in the world, offers hot red wine baths, honey and wine body wraps and more to their guests, and claim that the wine-based treatments help to improve health and appearance.

According to practitioners at the spa, this is due to the polyphenols found in the grape seeds, which help protect the body against free radicals. Certain procedures also involve the application of resveratrol and electrical stimulation. They believe that these wine-based treatments, which are all externally applied, can help reduce the appearance of cellulite, boost circulation, tone the body and reduce wrinkles.

Before You Reach for the Wine Bottle…
Whilst few of us would want to pour away a good bottle of Merlot to bathe in it, many people in the UK are not averse to drinking a glass or two every evening. However, whilst certain studies have shown that red wine offers health benefits, it’s important to note that it is detrimental to drink too much.

Drinking too much alcohol causes your blood vessels to enlarge in the face, which can leave you looking red and blotchy. It can also leave you with permanent thread veins. In addition to this, drinking a lot of alcohol has a dehydrating effect, which over time, can leave skin sallow, dry and wrinkled. Heavy drinkers are also more likely to be deficient in vitamin A, which helps keep skin elastic, which again, increases your chances of developing wrinkles.

As a general guideline, aim to stick within the NHS recommendations, which is no more than 2-3 units per day for women (1 glass of wine) or 3-4 units a day for men (less than 2 glasses of wine).

* http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/07/24/5-foods-that-make-look-younger/

* http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5000863

* http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-68458/Can-bathing-wine-make-younger-cure-cellulite.html

* http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2051161/What-TWO-glasses-wine-day-face-years.html

* http://www.nhs.uk/Change4Life/Pages/alcohol-lower-risk-guidelines-units.aspx