Can Almonds Benefit Your Skin?

As the body’s largest organ system, your skin is the first and last line of defense against the outside world. Scientists are investigating how your diet may benefit skin health, and the Almond Board of California is funding innovative research to provide people with evidence needed to make dietary choices that support skin health and overall wellness.

Almond nutrients that may benefit skin.

Almonds are one of the most nutrient-dense foods around. Several key nutrients found in almonds are linked to skin health, making them a delicious addition to daily beauty routines:

• Almonds are rich in antioxidant vitamin E, which may help protect cells from the damaging effects of free radicals, caused by pollution, UV rays from the sun, cigarette smoke and other environmental and intrinsic factors. One serving of 23 almonds (about an ounce) provides 50 of your daily recommended vitamin E needs. Almonds contain the natural form of vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol), which is more potent than synthetic forms found in dietary supplements.
• You’ll find 8% of the Daily Value for zinc. Zinc contributes to the integrity of healthy skin. 
• Two B vitamins contribute to the maintenance of normal skin. Almonds offer 25% of the Daily Value for riboflavin and 6% of the Daily value for niacin.
• Almonds are a high source of copper, which plays a role in skin and hair pigmentation.
• Linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid, helps prevent skin dryness. A one ounce serving of almonds has 3.5 grams of linoleic acid.

Skin Health: New
research learnings.

Almond Skin Research in Postmenopausal Women.

There is now research that explores almonds’ role in aging, adding a whole new meaning to natural beauty. The results of a skin health clinical study¹ led researchers at the University of California, Davis to conclude that that daily consumption of almonds may be an effective means of improving facial wrinkles and evenness of skin tone (indicated by reduced pigment intensity) amongst post-menopausal women.

UC Davis researchers examined the impacts of daily almond snacking on 49 postmenopausal women with sun-sensitive Fitzpatrick skin types I or II. Those in the almond snacking group ate about two, one-ounce servings of almonds per day, while the control group ate a nut-free snack with equivalent calories. Photographic image analysis showed that participants who ate almonds daily had significant reductions in wrinkle severity and an improvement in average facial pigment intensity (a more even skin tone) compared to the control group.

It's important to note the opportunity for further research. Since this study was limited to 24 weeks, results do not provide insight into longer duration and effects of eating almonds. Additionally, the study participants were postmenopausal women with sun sensitive skin types Fitzpatrick I and II, so results cannot be generalized to younger, male or higher Fitzpatrick skin type populations. And, although the snacks in both groups were calorie-matched, they were not macronutrient-matched.

Almonds and strengthening your skin.

Another clinical study² from the University of California, Los Angeles suggests that regular almond snacking may be one way to help skin from within and support other key measures, like wearing sunscreen, to protect your skin from sun exposure and UVB rays that play a role in photodamage.

UCLA researchers conducted a study over a 12-week period on 29 Asian women (18 to 45 years old) with Fitzpatrick skin types II, III or IV (ranging from “burns and does not tan easily” to “burns a little and tans easily”). Women were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the almond group ate 1.55oz (42 grams) of almonds daily, while a pretzel group ate 1.8oz (51 grams) of pretzels daily. 

The researchers measured each person’s skin response to UVB rays – the type of rays known to cause sunburn - at the beginning and end of the study by quantifying their individual minimal erythema dose (MED). MED is the lowest dose of UVB light needed to cause slight skin reddening to a specific site on the skin. Skin reddening is the first indication of skin photodamage, so increased MED indicates improved protection against (or resistance to) UVB photodamage. 

For the almond group, there was a significant increase in MED and in exposure time required to induce erythema in the almond group compared to the pretzel group at the final visit at the end of the study (12 weeks) compared to the start of the study. The researchers speculate that the nutrients in almonds (mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, quercetin (a flavonoid), and other phenolic and polyphenolic compounds, may improve the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity of human skin, which could be responsible for the increased photoprotection against UVB light.

It's important to note the small size and youth of the study population. This study did not investigate the effect of sun exposure in general nor UVA exposure; findings are limited to protection against UVB radiation. Further research is needed to investigate the effects of almond consumption for older subjects with moderate-to-severe photoaged skin and for other Fitzpatrick skin types.

Almonds and the gut-skin connection.

Maintaining a healthy gut microbiome is essential for overall wellbeing and can also have implications for your skin health. Research on the link between almonds and gut health is growing, and results from several studies indicate eating almonds may provide potential benefits on gut microbiome and overall gut health.

The Research: Almonds and Gut Health