Hippocrates, the Greek physician known as the father of Western Medicine, once said, "Let thy food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

He also advised, "No wound should be moistened with anything except wine."

Those are wise words.

Clearly, he understood the power of nutrition — and of the grape in particular. Now, 2,400 years later, researchers have found that around a third of people gain another benefit from grapes: They protect skin from sun damage.

The scientists who published their findings in the journal Antioxidants had 29 people eat the equivalent of 2.25 cups of grapes a day for 14 days (That's a lot!). When zapped with UV light, nine of those people showed strong resistance to sunburn — with some remaining protected for a month after they stopped eating grapes daily.

The sunburn-resistant folks also had significant differences in their gut's microbiome and in certain body chemicals compared to the non-responders. 

Did the grapes upgrade their gut biome or was their gut already primed to receive grapes' benefits more enthusiastically?

Researchers aren't sure, and we do know that grapes can spike blood sugar levels — something you want to avoid, whether you have diabetes or not.

So the bottom line for me is that while wine might calm you and help with socialization (and those are substantial benefits), I do not think you should rely on grapes to protect your skin from sun damage, skin cancer and wrinkles.

The safest choice: Use zinc oxide micronized sun block with SPF of 35 or higher.