There’s nothing to raise a glass to tonight, with a new study suggesting that white wine might trigger rosacea.
The Journal of American Academy of Dermatology documented the drinking habits of 83,000 women across the US over a 14-year period. The report discovered that those who drank between one and three glasses of white wine were found to have a 14 percent higher risk of developing the skin condition. Women who drank five glasses a day experienced an increased risk of 49 percent.
The study also found that women who drank hard liquors had an 8-28 percent chance of developing the condition, a common skin problem that causes intense redness around the nose, cheeks, forehead and chin.
At the end of the study period, researchers collected data on how many of the women had been diagnosed with rosacea and when.
The study didn’t make it exactly clear as to why white wine cause rosacea, but it may be due to the popular drink weakening the immune system and causing blood vessels to dilate.
It’s well known that alcohol and skin have a prickly past, with the drink renowned for causing a dehydrated visage. Alcohol lowers antioxidant stores in the skin causing dilation of the blood vessels to create the red-cheeked effect when someone’s had too much (or, in the case of this writer, not that much at all) alcohol.
The most surprising revelation, however, is that red wine drinkers didn’t experience any increased risk at all. A 2010 study conducted by the National Rosacea Society reported 76 percent of the 353 participants cited alcohol as a trigger, with the overwhelming majority laying the blame on the pinot noir.
The survey found that more than 72 percent of respondents said their rosacea flared up after drinking red wine compared to the 49 percent who attributed it to white wine.
A survey conducted by Galderma Laboratories and the National Rosacea Society in 2016 even went so far as to tell readers to drink white wine over red, with North American dermatologist Dr. Rosemarie Ingleton telling US publication Today, “Red wine causes a more vigorous dilation of blood vessels, possibly because tyramines and histamines get released into the skin.”
“The most common triggers are excessive heat or cold exposure, hot spicy foods, caffeine, alcohol — especially red wine, and skin care products that cause the skin to tingle and turn red.”
While the facts are still quite divided, we think it’s safe to say that we all need a glass of vino now.
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