Dr. Gonzalez and I, and Dr. Kelley before us, highly recommended almonds. There are many reasons that almonds are beneficial: they contain healthy fats, valuable polyphenols, protein, fiber, and vitamin E. But they have one benefit that I admit I had not heard of until now: they improve the appearance of wrinkled skin.

    A group of researchers at University of California-Davis performed a randomized trial on a group of postmenopausal women with fair skin, because fair skin is more likely to be sun-damaged and wrinkled. Half received 20% of their daily calories as almonds for 24 weeks; the other half were given a calorie-matched snack. That is a high dose of almonds, and had I been in that study group, I don’t think I would have wanted to see another almond for months afterwards. I would guess that the dose was chosen to improve the odds of seeing a significant change in a short time.

    And the researchers did see a significant improvement in wrinkles and in blotchy skin, two changes frequently seen in aging skin. Improvements were seen at week 16 and were maintained through the end of the study at week 24.

    I think that we can maintain the quality of our skin with many nutritious foods, not just almonds, and that a lower daily dose would be sufficient. But I think this study does give us an extra reason to eat them.