The Findings
Over the last few years there has been a surge in the interest of foods and food ingredients for healthier appearing skin. This renewed interest has been termed nutritional cosmetics, or nutricosmetics, to reflect the impact of nutrition on beauty and skin health.
Unfortunately, research in this area is still in its infancy with limited research in human subjects.
Nonetheless, studies are being done and more are likely on the horizon. A new skin nutrition study, published online ahead of print in the British Journal of Nutrition, is one such study. For this study, researchers measured skin hydration, surface lipids, skin elasticity and wrinkling in over 700 Japanese women. Differences based on dietary habits were determined by evaluating usual eating patterns with a food frequency questionnaire.