New research has found that post-menopausal women who partook in a daily snack of almonds saw a marked improvement in wrinkle width and severity.
Funded by the Almond Board of California, the pilot study by researchers at the University of California, used high-resolution imaging to examine almonds’ effects on skin health. In the trial, 28 healthy postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to one of two groups. In the intervention group, women ate almonds as a snack (two 1oz servings) daily, while the control group consumed a nut-free snack.
Skin assessments were made at the start of the study, and at four week intervals for 16 weeks. Facial wrinkles were assessed using high-resolution facial imaging and validated 3-D facial modelling and measurement. By the end of the study, photographic image analysis showed statistically significant improvements for participants in the almond snack group compared to the control group, with wrinkle width decreasing by 10% and wrinkle severity decreasing by 9%.
“Food as a means of promoting skin health – the ‘health from the inside out’ idea – is of growing interest to those looking for options for healthy ageing,” comments Sivamani. “It’s also a growing area of scientific research. Almonds are a rich source of antioxidant vitamin E and deliver essential fatty acids and polyphenols. They’re a smart choice for overall good nutrition. And, as seen in this study, almonds may hold promise as a food to include as part of a healthy aging diet, especially for post-menopausal women.”
The researchers concluded that daily consumption of almonds may play a role in reducing wrinkle severity in post-menopausal women and added that the outcomes warranted future studies with expanded population groups and additional evaluations for signs of skin ageing. A larger and longer-term follow-up study is underway.
