Beer Makes Your Skin Glow, Claim Beautiful Italians

I've heard of ancient beauties bathing in milk, but a new study suggests they should've opted for a hoppy brewski: Eat This, Not That! reports that a group of Italian scientists say they've discovered skin-boosting antioxidants in some craft beers. Wrinkles, meet hefeweizen.

First, a bit of background: If you're a beer person, you probably know about phenols, the components in craft brews that create aromas such as clove and smoke. Turns out, those phenols have disease-fighting compounds, per the research conducted by two teams of experts at Italian universities. (Note that phenols are not to be confused with phenol, a highly toxic substance that'll turn your pee weird colors.)

Researchers at the University of Camerino teamed up with colleagues at the University of Bologna for a recent study published in Cosmetics. The study sought to explore the potential antioxidant benefits of craft beer, and it had three main takeaways: First, that hops contain high quantity of phenols; second, that yeast "demonstrated the ability to better absorb phenols from the beer," and, finally, that craft beers featuring malts, hops, and yeast could potentially improve the quality of one's skin. The phenol-rich hops and yeast "showed the ability to improve the mitochondrial activity and prevent oxidative stress," both of which are factors in premature skin aging.

Ultimately, the researchers suggested that "waste from handcrafted beers can be an interesting source of phenols for the preparation of skin anti-aging cosmetics." I'm not aware of any beer-infused skin creams currently on the market, which means one thing: It's time for me to get to work on the skincare product that'll make me my fortune. I'll call it Aunt Lillian's Beer Ointment, and it'll take the world by storm. That'll be one million dollars, please.