Rome, March 17 (beraking latest news Health) – 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 trial, 49 healthy postmenopausal women with Fitzpatrick type 1 or 2 skin (i.e. with a greater tendency to burn from 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 a snack of equal calories, 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 done 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 3 techniques. -D validated face modeling and measurement. 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: a 15% reduction at 16 weeks and a 16% reduction at 24 weeks.
There was also a statistically significant decrease in the overall intensity of facial pigments (skin color irregularities) in the almond group, with a reduction of 20% by week 16, which remained so at week 24. Furthermore, body weight remained constant for both groups – almonds and the control group – from baseline to 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. of more even skin, “said Raja Sivamani, dermatologist and principal investigator of this study.
In the study, 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; 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 more nutritional components, including alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) and good (unsaturated) fats, rather than oversimplifying the potential benefits due to them. to a single 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 complexion in postmenopausal women “. The study’s limitations – the researchers note – include its 24-week duration; the results provide no information on the potential long-term effects of almond intake. Additionally, study participants were postmenopausal women with Fitzpatrick skin types I and II. Therefore, more research is needed to study the impact of almond consumption on other populations. And, although the snacks in both groups were equal in calories, they weren’t macronutrient equivalent.