A small study published Wednesday found that consuming grapes protected against ultraviolet skin damage in a group of 29 human volunteers. (Angela Serena Gilmour, Alamy)
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TORONTO — The grape is loved around the world as a staple food and drink that offers many nutritional benefits, and new research suggests there may be another reason to love it: protection against sunburn.
a little, peer reviewed study published Wednesday in the scientific journal Antioxidants found that eating grapes protected against skin damage from ultraviolet rays in a group of 29 human volunteers.
Researchers at universities in Massachusetts and New York monitored the volunteers as they consumed whole grape powder, equivalent to 2 1/4 cups of grapes, every day for two weeks. They measured the subjects’ skin response to ultraviolet radiation before and after eating the grapes and found that, by the end of the study, one-third of the subjects showed increased resistance to sunburn. The authors said the resistance was likely related to polyphenols, natural compounds found in grapes that function as antioxidants in the body.
Analysis of the gut microbiome, blood and urine samples showed that the same subjects who demonstrated UV resistance also had unique microbiome and metabolic characteristics that the researchers said suggested a link between people’s genes, their gut health and your skin health. In other words, some people’s genetic profiles include digestive and metabolic traits that allow them to enjoy resistance to sunburn after eating grapes.
“‘Let your food be your medicine and medicine be your food’ goes back to the time of Hippocrates,” John Pezzuto, the study’s lead author and dean of Western New England University, said in a news release. “Now, after 2,500 years, as demonstrated by this human study conducted with diet grapes, we are still learning the reality of this statement.”
The report adds to a growing body of scientific evidence that eating grapes can help protect skin against UV radiation. He cites US studies from 2008, 2019 and 2020 that found that eating grapes helped prevent skin cancer in hairless mice exposed to ultraviolet lights.
Ultraviolet light is the component of sunlight that ages and damages the skin and can cause cancers such as melanoma. According to the November 30 study, most cases of skin cancer are associated with exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
According to the Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation, more than 80,000 cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in Canada each year. More than 5,000 of those cases are melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
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