Grapes: The Solution To All Your Acne Problems?

If you’re only just entering the universe of natural skincare remedies, then know this fact: the cures for acne are far more commonplace than you probably realise.

Your dermatologist might rattle on about benzoyl peroxide, moisturisers and antibiotics like there’s no tomorrow, but the very greatest remedies may be sitting on your shelf right now. Namely, everyday fruits and vegetables.

Consider strawberries, for example. With benzoyl peroxide, the unending cycle goes like this. 1) Your pimples become less prominent for a week or two, 2) the free radicals designed to kill p.acnes bacteria backfire and badly clog your pores, and 3) your acne reverts back to the annoying norm.

Meanwhile, a single cup of fully ripe strawberries contains 97% of the RDI for vitamin C, which calms stress and speeds up the healing of old acne by increasing collagen formation. They’re teeming with thousands of obscure plant phytonutrients, with one example being the anti-inflammatory flavanol quercetin. Finally, strawberries are an antioxidant bombshell which create a natural inbuilt armour against sunlight and air pollution.

You can obtain each of these benefits by simply eating a tasty piece of fruit. You don’t have to throw away hours every month with a chemical regimen that ultimately gets you nowhere.

Topical treatments are fantastic bonus weapons, undoubtedly, but if you’re a natural acne newbie, then I recommend switching focus to a top notch diet, today…

…and one of the better examples for acne is the common grocery store grape. In fact, grapes are a true secret weapon because if you casually glance at the nutrition table, they appear to be the weakest fruit in town.

 

Grapes – deceptively low in vitamins and minerals

Firstly, 100 grams of the common grape contains a miniscule 18% of the RDI for vitamin C. Compare that to 97% in strawberries, 79% in pineapples, and 43% in raspberries; almost every other fruit contains more.

18% doesn’t sound terrible, but for acne-clearing purposes, the RDI of 60mg is far too low already. I recommend at least 200mg daily.

Read Annihilate Your Acne – learn how to clear your skin permanently

Vitamin C, if you’re wondering, is a highly overlooked nutrient for acne; it slashes the stress hormone cortisol, accelerates wound healing, and also happens to be the number one water soluble antioxidant in humans.

The story is similar for the grape’s other nutrients. 100 grams of both red and green contains…

• Vitamin C – 18% of RDA.
• Magnesium – 2%.
• Vitamin A – 1%.
• Calcium – 1%.
• Iron – 2%.
• Vitamin B6 – 4%.
• Vitamin E – 1%.
• Vitamin B12 – 0%.
• Manganese – 4%.
• Selenium – 0%.
• Potassium – 5%.
• Vitamin D – 0%.
• Zinc – 0%.
• Vitamin K1 – 18%.

Grapes have nothing of note at all. They compare nicely for vitamin K, but unlike the pore-clearing vitamin E or the oily skin extraordinaire vitamin A, vitamin K has no benefits for human skin. Grapes contain almost none of those two nutrients, and there’s little of the elite trio of acne minerals either: magnesium, zinc, and selenium.

Grapes are also relatively mediocre for antioxidants, scoring 1837 on the ORAC scale (red) with green grapes scoring 1018. That’s a good score, but wouldn’t singlehandedly resurrect grapes when almost all berries are superior, including strawberries (4302), raspberries (5065), blackberries (5905), blueberries (4996), and cranberries (9090).

Overall, grapes look feeble for acne on the surface, like they belong to the same lesser fruit club as the cantaloupe and honeydew melons. But when you look deeper, new angles of the story emerge…

 

Grapes have a variety of acne-clearing powers

Somehow, grapes still perform excellently in virtually all scientific studies ever performed. For areas of health connected to acne, there’s almost too many promising studies to choose from. Firstly, we have chronic inflammation, an overactive immune system, and the number one internal cause of acne.

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This 2012 study fed 46 grams of grape powder, equivalent to 252 grams of whole grapes, to a group of humans. 4 weeks later, their anti-inflammatory markers such as interleukin-10 and adiponectin had rocketed upwards.

This 2014 study, meanwhile, fed grape powder to people with kidney disease. A placebo group suffered from high c-reactive protein, the classic pro-inflammatory biomarker, but the humble grape managed to eliminate this increase. The scientists concluded that “grape powder as phenolic source could play an important role as an anti-inflammatory agent“. This study, this study, and this study observed reductions in inflammation from grape marc, grape powder extract, and whole grapes respectively.

Next up, it’s the antioxidants’ time to shine. The ORAC scores of 1837 and 1018 are decent, but the actual studies dramatically outperform them:

ONE – a human study where grape juice protected against cancer and defended DNA strands from damage. Lowering free radicals was deemed to be responsible.

TWO – this 2009 study observed a 71% increase in liver levels of the master antioxidant glutathione (learn why it’s vital for acne here).

THREE – after downing some grape juice, 21 humans experienced noticeable increases in total bloodstream antioxidants, showing that “consuming moderate amounts of daily grape juice may favourably affect antioxidant defense systems” (study).

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FOUR – in the livers of rabbits, grape skin powder increased glutathione while decreasing lipid peroxides, the deadliest form of free radical for acne (study).

FIVE – 50 cardiovascular patients were fed red grape powder (study), and after 12 weeks, their blood lipid peroxides and overall oxidative stress fell “significantly“.

The meaning for acne is simple, but incredibly important. Increasing antioxidants prevents the sebum on your skin from oxidising and becoming doubly potent at clogging your pores. Less free radicals/oxidative stress means that less bodily antioxidants will be depleted.

Meanwhile, it’s often said that humans are only 10% human, that we have 10 trillion human cells and 100 trillion bacteria cells, many of which reside in our gut. Species like lactobacillus spend all day churning out anti-inflammatory molecules like butyrate, but other species are downright sinister.

H.pylori, for example, is specifically linked to acne, via the dark arts of food allergies and leaky gut syndrome. In this promising study, grapes wiped out the h.pylori bacteria with ease, and interestingly, the muscadine grape subspecies performed particularly strongly.

Grapes also have a fantastic sunlight protection study, where its antioxidants put the formation of free radicals in the epidermis (the skin’s outer layer) to a near total halt. The main UV protector was identified as gallic acid, an antioxidant which red grapes are especially rich in.

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While the grapes were applied directly this time, many antioxidants such as beta-carotene are known to migrate face-wards when eaten.

 

Grapes can end oily skin via insulin control?

Finally, we have a study hinting that grapes have oily skin powers, conducted on 66,105 women and 36,173 men.

Among the 14 fruits tested, grapes and raisins were tied second for preventing type 2 diabetes when eaten at least thrice weekly. They were defeated only by blueberries, and demolished tons of theoretically healthier fruits, including oranges, strawberries, and apples. Plums, prunes, peaches and apricots also found themselves defeated by grapes.

The connection to acne is surprisingly simple, as type 2 diabetes is the inevitable endgame of crippled insulin sensitivity and out of control insulin levels.

Insulin is the most important oily skin hormone bar none; it gleefully stimulates the receptors in your sebaceous glands, the main oil pumps of your skin.

What’s particularly interesting is that strawberries, a food with dramatically more vitamins and antioxidants, were inferior to both grapes and apples. Grapes must have a unique unidentified property, or a unique composition of specific phytonutrients.

Raisins, which are nothing more than dried grapes, performed just as strongly, proving that the stellar results weren’t a fluke. This study and this study again noticed promising powers for insulin and blood sugar control.

 

The world’s most popular antioxidant

The promising results don’t end there, as both red and green grapes are sources of the world famous antioxidant resveratrol.

This popular supplement is a phytoalexin compound manufactured in the grape’s skin, designed to ward off fungi and insects. Over approximately the last ten years, countless newspaper headlines have insisted that “red wine holds the key to long life”, or ordered you to “take resveratrol and live to age 150”.

Normally, you should always be sceptical about media hype, but this time, they have a point. In studies, resveratrol activates an anti-aging gene known as SIRT-3, which kickstarts the mitochondrial energy source of human cells, the same gene that calorie restriction extends human lifespan by activating. Resveratrol in copious amounts of red wine is also why the French live so long and enjoy good heart health (possibly).

As for acne, resveratrol is a potent antioxidant itself, supposedly several times more potent than vitamin C. But even better, resveratrol increases your body’s production of its own antioxidants too, namely superoxide dismutase. 

Resveratrol can also inhibit numerous pro-inflammatory actors, messengers and chemicals, including sphingosine kinase, COX-2, NK-KappaB, and phpholipase D (which is great news for acne).

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The best study of all time compared a placebo cream to a resveratrol cream, applied to each symmetrical side of a young acne patient’s face. After 60 days, the placebo side barely changed, with a non-significant 6% drop. But resveratrol, meanwhile, lowered the total pimple counts by a massive 54%. Luckily, the evidence suggests that resveratrol’s benefits are replicated when eating it.

In the media, red wine and resveratrol are normally constant companions, and the red grapes which wine is derived from contain decent amounts too. 100 grams boasts around 0.15mg, while green grapes contain significantly less at 0.02mg.

Actually, grapes aren’t the richest fruit for resveratrol at all. At 0.35mg, strawberries contain significantly more, cementing their status as the greatest fruit for acne of all. Many of the best studies used high concentration resveratrol as well, meaning that the quantities in grapes won’t be as amazing.

But given the positive studies above, the resveratrol is a great bonus indeed (full article on resveratrol here). Remember to eat the skins, as that’s where the resveratrol is naturally concentrated, alongside 95% of the average grape’s total antioxidants, which acts in nature as a fungi-thwarting suit of armour.

 

Any downsides for acne?

Despite this hidden greatness, grapes aren’t quite a cream of the crop fruit for acne. Instead, they rank around the middle alongside bananas and apples.

Why? Because both red and green grapes contain 15 grams of sugar per 100 grams.

Worse still, the fiber is only a miniscule 0.9 grams, all of which is found in the skins. All fruits contain some sugar, but fibre absorbs and slows its digestion, minimising the inflammation and formation of AGEs (advanced glycation end products – a type of free radical). The lack of fiber is itself detrimental because fiber acts as a fuel for acne-friendly strains of gut bacteria.

Nevertheless, if you craft an acne-friendly diet with one high, one medium, and two low sugar fruit slots, the acne-clearing benefits of grapes can easily be yours to behold. One daily system could be a serving of red grapes (high sugar), an apple (10 grams), and a handful each of strawberries (4.9 grams) and raspberries (4.4 grams).

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What’s more, grapes contain no defensive plant toxins like oxalates, but they are a member of the high FODMAP fruit club. If you’re sensitive to FODMAPs (more on these natural allergens here), then grapes could easily trigger a massive outbreak…

…but if you’re not sensitive, then sugar is pretty much the only problem. Conventional grapes are dropping with pesticides, but luckily, the organic version is quite cheap (unlike raspberries or blueberries).

 

The strategy – red vs green

If you want to use grapes to clear your acne naturally, then there’s only one logical choice.

The difference between red and green grapes isn’t enormous, as the basic nutrients like vitamin C and E are virtually identical. But red grapes contain 5 times more resveratrol, with 0.15mg to the green grape’s 0.02mg. Analogs which function similarly in the body are also more abundant, including trans-resveratrol and trans-resveratrol 3-O-glucoside.

In fact, antioxidants are the main difference overall. The red grape has an ORAC score of 1837 compared to 1018 for green grapes. Take a look at the pair’s scientifically identified antioxidants (undiscovered ones could easily exist).

Catechin – 1.41mg in green, 5.46mg in red.

Epicatechin – 0.49mg in green, 5.24mg in red.

Epigallocatechin – greens have 0.02mg, reds have 0.03mg.

Resveratrol – green (0.02mg), red (0.15mg).

Procyanidin dimer B1 – 0.64mg (green), 0.43mg (red).

PCD B2 – 0.06mg (green), 0.36mg (red).

PCD B3 – 0.20mg (green), 0.12mg (red).

PCD B4 – 0.38mg (green), 0.33mg (red).

Epicatechin 3-0 gallate – 0.25mg (green), red (1.68mg).

Trans-resveratrol – 0.03mg (green), 0.15mg (red).

Caffeoyl tartaric acid – 2.74mg (green), 1.14mg (red).

Quercetin 3-O glucuronide – 1.50mg (green), 2.15mg (red).

Procyanidin trimer C1 – 0.07mg (green), 0.38mg (red).

P-coumaroyl tartaric acid – 1.00mg (green), 0.56mg (red).

Green grapes win the war for 5 antioxidant varieties, but overall, red is the clear winner with 9. Choosing red grapes will give your skin the maximum advantage in clearness and radiance.

The explanation is equally interesting, as the dark colour of red grapes is derived from a gene encoding anthocyanin production, one of the most potent classes of antioxidants. Anthocyanins are designed to attract insects to pollinate, and to keep infections at bay, but also to attract mammals such as us to eat them and spread the seeds around (which we have now successfully bred away).

Green grapes, meanwhile, carry this gene, but it lies dormant due to mutations. The plant’s fruit stays green, and possesses less antioxidants overall. You can see that by observing wild grapes, grapes that have to survive independently without the farmer’s protective hand.

Almost every wild species in the modern world is purple, red or blue. The Ancient Egyptians and Greeks created the modern wine industry 5000 years ago, and their favoured variety of grapes was said to be purple.

So remember: if you ever stumble across an obscure subspecies of grape in the wild (there’s thousands across every continent except Antarctica), a darker colour is always superior. The same goes for other plant foods. The common blackberry, which stains your teeth purple if you eat too many, has a formidable ORAC score of 5905.

 

Avoid hyper-sweet versions!

Whatever you do, do not pick the cotton candy grape. This is the latest phenomenon in fruit, the candy fruit.

Essentially, some farmers are giving up the fight in persuading the public to adopt a healthy diet. They’ve adopted an “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” strategy and used all their talents to breed a new subspecies of grape loaded with so much sugar that it tastes like candy floss.

This quote comes from somebody who sampled one: “the taste triggers the unmistakable sensation of eating a puffy, pink ball of spun sugar“. When asked why they did this, the agricultural company claimed that they have to compete with candy bars and cookies.

Read Annihilate Your Acne – learn why nuts can both cause and clear acne

Don’t get tempted by these 21st century tricks! If you notice that the grape you’re eating tastes like candy floss, then throw it in the bin. Your goal is simple: maximise the nutrient intake while minimising the inevitable sugar. Reject cotton candy grapes at all costs.

This illustrates a more important point – that there’s bound to be farmers attempting a more subtle sweetening strategy.

Therefore, you should use your taste buds to reject any sickly sweet varieties that you stumble across. Instead, choose the brand with maximum flavour and therefore maximum antioxidants.

Aside from sweetness, another inferior variety is the Thompson seedless grape. This subspecies wasn’t born through agriculture; it was actually a Persian mutant discovered 1000 years ago in the wild. The problem? The same seed-removing mutation also destroyed its anthocyanins and resveratrol production. Therefore, if you have a choice of many brands, Thompson’s seedless should be low on the list.

 

Are organic grapes necessary?

Unlike bananas or pineapple, grapes are one conventional fruit where the pesticide count is so high that everyone should avoid it. 

Why? It’s the same reason as strawberries, blueberries and spinach. Grapes are small, and more surface area equals more room for pesticides. That’s why the wine industry accounts for 3.7% of France’s agricultural land, but utilises 20 percent of its pesticide expenditure. One of the most common grape pesticides, cryolite, is actually based on fluoride. Back in 1988 there were even union-led boycotts and hunger strikes in protests against chemical-ridden grape farming in California.

Nowadays, the harshest pesticides are banned, but grapes are still a fixture in the Environmental Working Group’s dirty dozen list of pesticide-drenched crops – in 2016 they ranked sixth. My expectation is that red grapes require less chemicals, since they possess more of their own natural defences like anthocyanins, but there’s no data to confirm this.

What’s more, new villains have surfaced, and one of the worst is glyphosate, an herbicide commonly applied to GMO corn and soybeans, which we discussed at length in my eBook. Grape farmers don’t spray glyphosate directly onto grapes, but rather into the soil below to wipe out weeds. The plant absorbs the chemicals in the soil with ease, and it does end up in the fruit…

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…and consequently, a recent study found that 100% of conventional Californian wines contain glyphosate residue. Glyphosate is now classed as a level 2A “probable carcinogen” by the World Health Organisation, and as for acne, small levels can devastate your acne-friendly gut bacteria. Organic wines contained 14 times less.

Therefore, I strongly advise all acne patients to purchase organic grapes, lest you experience the fearful consequences of pesticides such as chronic inflammation and glutathione depletion.

Luckily, organic grapes are pretty cheap, at least here in England. Some claim that organic produce is drenched in pesticides anyway and that it’s all a big lucrative scam. However, this myth was disproved in a recent study on 99 Mediterranean vineyards; the conventional grapes all had detectable pesticide residue but the organic ones were undetectable.

Organic grapes may even have higher levels of resveratrol, because sensing mould directly stimulates the skins to increase their resveratrol defences. When fungicides are applied, this stimulation is ended.

If you do lack the money, then pick fruits which are members of the clean fifteen, such as pineapple or sweet potatoes.

 

Conclusion

Your verdict on grapes is straightforward. They lack a standout acne gimmick like pineapple and its bromelain, but grapes can lower inflammation, increase antioxidant supplies, and enhance numerous areas which feed through to the skin beneficially.

The nutrition tables look mediocre, but the actual studies show a huge discrepancy in our favour. Grapes rank below pomegranates, strawberries and raspberries, but above melons and pears, and about equally to apples and bananas.

What’s certain is that grapes and indeed all fruits are far better for acne than a slice of cake. Even the cheapest green grape grown in the most nutritionally deprived wasteland won’t give you soy, corn, a massive dose of sugar (unless it’s the cotton candy grape), trans-fats, wheat, or vegetable oils like canola oil.

Remember: this article is just the tip of the iceberg. Numerous fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices possess massive powers for clearing your skin. So too do coffee, tea, and dark chocolate.

Never believe that benzoyl peroxide and Accutane are the only solutions to your acne.

NEXT: forget creams and moisturisers – discover the ultimate acne-clearing diet

 

 

Thanks for reading!