Plenty of advice promises that a healthy diet gives you natural skin care from the inside. Researchers have tested parts of that idea by comparing what people eat with how their skin looks. Here is what a handful of those studies measured, what the NHS says about food and acne, and where dates sit on the plate.
What the diet surveys found
One of these studies used the first US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Cosgrove and colleagues (2007) estimated the diets of 4025 women aged 40 to 74 from a 24-hour recall, and dermatologists examined their skin. Women with higher vitamin C intakes were less likely to have a wrinkled appearance (odds ratio 0.89) or senile dryness (0.93). A 17 g rise in fat intake and a 50 g rise in carbohydrate intake went with a higher likelihood of a wrinkled appearance (odds ratios 1.28 and 1.36). The first author worked at Unilever's corporate research centre.
A Dutch team looked at photographs of 2753 older people in the Rotterdam Study. In Mekić and colleagues (2019), women who kept closer to the Dutch dietary guidelines had fewer facial wrinkles. Men did not show the same link. Among the women, a fruit-dominant eating pattern went with fewer wrinkles, and a red meat and snack pattern went with more. The authors point out that the design was cross-sectional, so causation could not be proven.
In Japan, Nagata and colleagues (2010) measured the skin of 716 women. A higher intake of green and yellow vegetables was linked with a lower wrinkle score at the corner of the eyes, and the authors asked for further studies with more accurate methods.
All three looked for associations. They show which diets travel with better-looking skin, not that changing your diet will change your skin.
One small almond trial
The original version of this page praised almonds for their vitamin E. A trial has tested almonds on skin. In a randomised pilot study by Foolad and colleagues (2019), postmenopausal women with Fitzpatrick skin types 1 and 2 got 20% of their daily energy from either almonds or a calorie-matched snack for 16 weeks. Of 31 women enrolled, 28 finished. The almond group had less severe and narrower wrinkles on photographic analysis at 16 weeks than the control group, while skin water loss did not differ. The authors call it a pilot with a limited number of subjects, and the almonds were provided by the Almond Board of California, which also supported the study in part.
The NHS vitamin E page says vitamin E helps maintain healthy skin and eyes. It lists plant oils, nuts and seeds, and wheatgerm as good sources, and puts the daily need at 4mg for men and 3mg for women. The USDA FoodData Central record for almonds gives 25.6 mg of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) per 100 g, and a 1 oz serving of 23 whole kernels weighs 28.35 g.
Acne and food, according to the NHS
The old text also warned that clogged pores lead to acne. The NHS acne page says acne can happen when hair follicles become blocked with excess oil and dead skin cells. Its list of causes is changes in hormone levels, conditions such as PMOS and rosacea, certain medicines, and skin or hair products that make the skin greasy. No food is on that list. The things it suggests are about the skin itself: wash twice a day with a gentle cleanser, remove make-up at the end of the day, use non-comedogenic products, and do not pick or squeeze spots. A pharmacist can advise on treatments, and the page says to see a GP if self-care is not working or the spots are deep, painful or scarring.
Where dates fit in
Dates count as fruit. The NHS 5 A Day guide says a 30g portion of dried fruit, such as currants, dates, sultanas and figs, counts as 1 of your 5 A Day, but should be eaten at mealtimes, not as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth.
They are not a source of the vitamin C that Cosgrove's survey tracked. The USDA FoodData Central record 168191 for Medjool dates lists 0.0 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, with 6.7 g of fibre and 66.5 g of total sugars, and one pitted Medjool date weighs 24 g. For vitamin C the NHS vitamin C page points to citrus fruit, peppers, strawberries, blackcurrants, broccoli, brussels sprouts and potatoes.
Two date palm studies on wrinkles tested a cream made from the seed, not the fruit. Bauza and colleagues (2002) had 10 women aged 46 to 58 apply a cream with 5% date palm kernel extract, or a placebo, around the eyes twice a day for 5 weeks. Alsohaimi and Fouda (2019) had 43 volunteers use a 5% kernel extract cream on the face twice daily for 8 weeks. Both creams went on the skin, so neither study tells you anything about eating dates.
A practical way to use dates, then, is as a mealtime fruit next to the vegetables, fruit and nuts that the studies above point to. Ajwa dates come from Madinah in Saudi Arabia and are small, roundish and near-black with soft flesh. Green Diamond's Ajwa page (Harga Kurma Ajwa) lists packs in several grades, including the Kurma Ajwa 1 KG pack of grade AA, and its homepage is harga Kurma Ajwa Green diamond.
A sensible reading of the evidence
Eating more vegetables and fruit and fewer snack foods goes with fewer wrinkles in surveys of women, and one small, industry-supported trial found less severe wrinkles with almonds. That is a reasonable case for a varied diet, but it is not a skin treatment. For acne, the NHS acne page points to a pharmacist for treatments, and to a GP if it is not getting better or the spots are deep, painful or scarring.
For a price quote on dates, read about Date Fruit Exporter or send a WhatsApp message through the contact page.
This article is general information, not medical advice.
References
- Cosgrove MC, Franco OH, Granger SP, Murray PG, Mayes AE. Dietary nutrient intakes and skin-aging appearance among middle-aged American women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;86(4):1225-31. PMID 17921406
- Mekić S, Jacobs LC, Hamer MA, et al. A healthy diet in women is associated with less facial wrinkles in a large Dutch population-based cohort. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2019;80(5):1358-1363.e2. PMID 29601935
- Nagata C, Nakamura K, Wada K, et al. Association of dietary fat, vegetables and antioxidant micronutrients with skin ageing in Japanese women. Br J Nutr. 2010;103(10):1493-8. PMID 20085665
- Foolad N, Vaughn AR, Rybak I, et al. Prospective randomized controlled pilot study on the effects of almond consumption on skin lipids and wrinkles. Phytother Res. 2019;33(12):3212-3217. PMID 31576607
- NHS. Vitamins and minerals: vitamin E. nhs.uk
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central, SR Legacy 170567: Nuts, almonds. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- NHS. Acne. nhs.uk
- NHS. 5 A Day: what counts? nhs.uk
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central, SR Legacy 168191: Dates, medjool. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- NHS. Vitamins and minerals: vitamin C. nhs.uk
- Bauza E, Dal Farra C, Berghi A, et al. Date palm kernel extract exhibits antiaging properties and significantly reduces skin wrinkles. Int J Tissue React. 2002;24(4):131-6. PMID 12779247
- Alsohaimi A, Fouda AM. Assessment of the effect of extract formulation of date palm kernel on facial skin wrinkles. J Cosmet Sci. 2019;70(6):277-290. PMID 31829921