An almond-based snack every day to help the skin, especially against wrinkles and blemishes. This is what suggests a new study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, Davis, which showed that eating them daily, instead of typical snacks of the same caloric content, improves the measures of both the severity of wrinkles and skin pigmentation. in postmenopausal women. The study, funded by the Almond Board of California, confirms and expands the findings of a 2019 research.
In this 6-month randomized controlled study, 49 healthy postmenopausal women with type 1 or 2 skin according to the Fitzpatrick classification (i.e. with a greater tendency to burn due to sun exposure), completed the study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: in the intervention group, women ate almonds as a snack, for 20% of their total daily calorie intake, or 340 calories per day on average (60g, about 2 servings). . The control group ate an equal calorie snack, which likewise accounted for 20% of the daily calories: a fig bar, a cereal bar or pretzels. Aside from these snacks, the study participants followed their normal diet and did not eat any nuts or products containing any.
Skin assessments were performed at the start of the study and again at 8, 16 and 24 weeks, and covered facial wrinkles and facial pigmentation intensity, using high-resolution facial imaging and validated 3-D facial modeling and measurement techniques. Skin hydration, transepidermal water loss (Tewl) and sebum excretion were also evaluated. The researchers found a statistically significant reduction in the severity of wrinkles in the group that consumed almonds: at 16 weeks a reduction of 15% and at 24 weeks a reduction of 16%.
Also detected a statistically significant decrease in the overall intensity of facial pigments (skin discoloration irregularities) in the almond group, with a reduction of 20% by week 16, which remained unchanged at week 24. Furthermore, body weight remained constant for both groups – almonds and the control group – from baseline at 24 weeks. “Daily consumption of almonds can be an effective means of improving the appearance of facial wrinkles and skin complexion among postmenopausal women with Fitzpatrick skin types I and II. We can describe this reduced pigmentation effect as a complexion. more even skin, “he said Raja Sivamani, dermatologist and principal investigator of this study.
In the studio, transepidermal water loss, skin hydration, and sebum excretion were measured on the forehead and cheeks during the study in both groups: there were no changes at any time between the almond and control groups; at the end of the study, there were increases in skin hydration in both groups and observing the rate of sebum excretion, both groups showed an increase on the cheeks, but only those in the control group showed an increase in the area of the forehead.
“Our results – continues Sivamani – underline the need to consider almonds as a whole food with multiple nutritional components, including alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) and good (unsaturated) fats, rather than oversimplifying the potential benefits of just one nutrient. Almonds – he remembers – are high in alpha-tocopherol which has antioxidant functions and may be partially the cause of the effects we see on both wrinkles and skin tone in postmenopausal women. ” – includes its duration of 24 weeks; the results do not provide information on the potential effects of long-term almond intake. In addition, the study participants were postmenopausal women with Fitzpatrick skin types I and II. Therefore, they are needed. further research to study the impact of almond consumption in other populations.And, although the snacks in both groups were equal in calories, they were not equivalent in terms of macronutrients.
