Our Summary
Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds, nutrients that have individually shown promise for skin health in prior research. This 2022 pilot study from UCLA, published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, set out to test whether eating one whole avocado per day could produce measurable improvements in facial skin quality in women. Thirty-nine women aged 27 to 73 were randomly assigned to either consume one avocado daily for 8 weeks or continue their usual diet with no avocado, and researchers measured skin elasticity, firmness, hydration, pigmentation, sebum levels, and resistance to UV-B radiation on the forehead and under-eye area at the start and end of the study. The results showed that women in the avocado group experienced significant improvements in both skin elasticity and firmness at the forehead compared to baseline and compared to the control group, suggesting that regular avocado consumption produced a real and measurable change in the structural quality of the skin over just two months. No significant differences were observed between the two groups for skin hydration, pigmentation, sebum production, or UV-B resistance, indicating the benefits were specific to the mechanical properties of the skin rather than a broad effect across all skin parameters. The authors propose that the healthy fats and antioxidant compounds in avocados may support the integrity of the skin's structural matrix, though they note that as a pilot study with a relatively small sample the findings warrant confirmation in larger, longer trials before definitive conclusions can be drawn.
PMID: 35037373
PMCID: PMC9786235
DOI: 10.1111/jocd.14717
Abstract
Background: Avocados are a rich dietary source of monounsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds. Clinical studies have demonstrated that oral consumption of carotenoids improved skin aging. However, no studies have investigated whether oral intake of avocado will reduce skin aging.
Objectives: We therefore performed this pilot study to assess whether oral consumption of one avocado daily for 8 weeks can reduce skin aging in healthy overweight women assessing skin physical characteristics and resistance to UVB radiation.
Methods: Thirty-nine female participants (age 27-73 years) with Fitzpatrick skin type II-IV were randomly assigned to consume either one avocado daily or continue habitual diet for 8 weeks. Facial skin elasticity, firmness, pigmentation, sebum, and hydration were determined using a cutometer on the forehead and under eye. Minimal erythema dose (MED) was determined by standardized protocol at inner arm.
Results: Elasticity and firmness were increased at forehead comparing 8 weeks to baseline in the avocado group. Comparing avocado to control, change in firmness marker from baseline to week 8 indicated a significant increase in forehead skin firmness in the avocado group. We did not observe any change in hydration, pigmentation, sebum, and UVB resistance between the avocado and control group, although changes in melanin and erythema were observed in both groups over time.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that daily oral avocado consumption may lead to enhanced elasticity and firmness of the facial skin in healthy women. Further studies of other skin locations are required to establish the connection between avocado consumption and skin aging.
Keywords: UVB; avocado; elasticity; nutrition; obesity; randomized controlled trial.