As I’ve talked about on the FutureDerm blog before, due to stress, fast “convenient” food, and a lack of exercise, I gained 30 pounds between 2011 and 2014. Thanks to great skin care, I never really noticed any wrinkling, acne, or skin sallowness changes during that time.
However, this summer, I decided that enough was enough. I started seeing a dietitian, and I’ve lost 25 pounds. Best of all, my skin seems healthier, stronger, and glowier.
Why I Started Eating a Lot of Almonds
Eating almonds regularly can do almost as much for your skin as topically applying a cream with niacinamide and zinc.
Let me explain. A study inThe Journal of Skin Pharmacology and Physiology suggests that eating an ingredient is more beneficial than topically applying it. However, the study further suggests that a combination of eating and topically applying ingredients to the skin may be most beneficial.
This is because what you ingest goes into your bloodstream, and the nutrients are delivered to your skin. So while topically applying beneficial ingredients certainly can make a difference, the combination of delivering the ingredients from the outside and the inside (via the bloodstream) makes the biggest difference of all!
Almonds contain a lot of skin-friendly ingredients, including:
- To summarize the skin benefits, vitamin A compounds are retinoids, that are wrinkle-fighting, skin-firming, and exfoliating (read more).
- Vitamin B3 is niacinamide, which is hydrating and helps with skin sallowing (read more), whereas vitamin B5 is the hydrating and wound-healing pantothenic acid (European Surgical Research, 1995).
- Vitamin C is available in multiple forms, including L-ascorbic acid, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, ascorbyl palmitate, and sodium ascorbyl phosphate. While more acidic forms are more exfoliating and newer forms are more stable, the same truth remains for all: they have been shown to increase skin firmness, fight sunspots, and grant skin a “glow.” (read more)
- Vitamin D has more limited benefits in the skin, but has been associated with antimicrobial activity in the skin (Science, 2006).
- Vitamin E strengthens the action of vitamin C and is quite hydrating (read more).
- Zinc has been found to strengthen the skin and to reduce acne rates.
What Tosi Almond SuperBites are Like
Tosi Almond SuperBites are awesome because they include not only almonds, but also omega-3 rich flaxseeds, super filling chia seeds, and a tiny bit of organic cane juice and sea salt for flavor.
They taste really good and are easily portable. At just 120 calories per pouch, pairing these with a piece of fruit makes them the perfect, ultra-filling mid-afternoon snack!
Bottom Line
Almonds are amazing for the skin, and I’m a super fan of the Tosi Almond SuperBites!
Organic Almonds, Organic Golden Flaxseed, White Sesame Seeds, Organic Chia Seeds, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Sea Salt