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The grape cure

When we bring someone in hospital a bunch of grapes, we don't expect the grapes to work a miraculous cure upon them. But several times in history, wondrous healing powers have been attributed to the humble grape. Follow the history from ancient Greece, to early modern treatises on why we should drink wine instead of water, to early 20th-century luxury health resorts where nothing but grapes were served.

Words by Alice White

  • In pictures

About the author

Alice White

Alice is a digital editor and Wikimedian for Wellcome Collection. Before joining Wellcome, she researched frogs, moustaches, psychiatry in World War II, and British science-fiction fans.