A healthy diet for skin care is a common promise. This post looks at what published studies have actually measured when they compared diet with the look of people's skin, and then at where Brazil nuts and dates fit in.
Diet and wrinkles in large surveys
A 2007 study by Cosgrove and colleagues used data from the first US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. It looked at 4025 women aged 40 to 74, estimated what they ate from a 24-hour recall, and had dermatologists examine their skin. Higher vitamin C intake was associated with a lower likelihood of a wrinkled appearance (odds ratio 0.89) and of senile dryness (0.93). Higher linoleic acid intake was associated with less senile dryness (0.75) and less skin atrophy (0.78). A 17 g increase in fat and a 50 g increase in carbohydrate went with a higher likelihood of a wrinkled appearance (odds ratios 1.28 and 1.36). The first author's listed affiliation is Unilever's corporate research centre.
In the Netherlands, Mekić and colleagues (2019) measured wrinkles in facial photographs of 2753 older people from the Rotterdam Study and assessed diet with a food frequency questionnaire. Women who followed the Dutch dietary guidelines more closely had fewer wrinkles, but the link was not found in men. In women, a pattern dominated by red meat and snacks went with more facial wrinkles, and a fruit-dominant pattern went with fewer. The authors note that their study was cross-sectional, so causation could not be proven, and that other health-conscious habits could have influenced the results.
A cross-sectional study of 716 Japanese women by Nagata and colleagues (2010) found that a higher intake of green and yellow vegetables was associated with a lower wrinkle score around the eyes. Higher intakes of total, saturated and monounsaturated fat were associated with more elastic skin. The authors called for further studies with more accurate measurement methods.
An older study by Purba and colleagues (2001) compared Greek-born people in Melbourne, Greeks in rural Greece, Anglo-Celtic Australians and Swedes. More vegetables, olive oil and legumes went with less skin wrinkling on a sun-exposed site, while butter, margarine, milk products and sugar products went with more.
Fruit, vegetables and skin colour
Of the five diet-and-skin studies here, the only one that followed the same people over time measured colour, not wrinkles. Whitehead and colleagues (2012) recorded diet and skin colour in 35 people at the start, after three weeks and after six weeks. Six-week changes in fruit and vegetable intake were linked with changes in skin redness and yellowness, and the colour shift matched carotenoids rather than melanin. In perception tests, an increase of 2.91 portions a day was enough for skin to look healthier, and 3.30 portions for it to look more attractive. The authors wrote about Caucasian skin, and the work was supported by Unilever.
So the evidence here is about associations. In three of the surveys, more vegetables or fruit went with fewer wrinkles (in Mekić's study, only in women). None of the five studies changed people's diets and then measured their wrinkles.
Brazil nuts and selenium
An earlier version of this post had a raw snack bar recipe made with Brazil nuts and cashews. Brazil nuts deserve a note. The NHS vitamins and minerals page lists brazil nuts first among good sources of selenium, with fish, meat and eggs. It gives the daily need as 75μg for men and 60μg for women aged 19 to 64. Too much selenium causes selenosis, which in its mildest form can lead to loss of hair and nails.
In a randomised controlled trial by Thomson and colleagues (2008), 59 New Zealand adults were assigned to 2 Brazil nuts a day, 100μg of selenium as selenomethionine, or a placebo for 12 weeks. The nuts were expected to provide about 100μg of selenium, but actual intake averaged 53μg a day, with a possible range of 20 to 84μg. Plasma selenium rose by 64.2% in the Brazil nut group. The gap between the expected 100μg and the measured 53μg shows that the selenium in two nuts can differ a lot from what is expected.
Where dates fit in
Dates are a dried fruit, and the NHS 5 A Day guide says a 30g portion of dried fruit, such as dates, counts as 1 of your 5 A Day. It should be eaten at mealtimes, not as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth.
Medjool dates supply none of the vitamin C that Cosgrove's survey linked with fewer wrinkles. The USDA FoodData Central record 168191 for Medjool dates lists 0.0 mg of vitamin C, 89 µg of beta-carotene and 0.15 g of fat per 100 g, along with 66.5 g of total sugars and 6.7 g of fibre. One pitted Medjool date weighs 24 g.
A PubMed search for date fruit, date palm or Phoenix dactylifera together with skin or wrinkles, limited to human studies, returned 81 records in October 2026. The two with wrinkles in the title tested a cream, not food. In Bauza and colleagues (2002), 10 women aged 46 to 58 applied a cream with 5% date palm kernel extract, or a placebo, around the eyes twice a day for 5 weeks. In Alsohaimi and Fouda (2019), 43 volunteers used a 5% date palm kernel extract cream on the face twice daily for 8 weeks. Both creams were applied to the skin, so neither study says anything about eating dates.
Several of the other records are allergy studies. In a study from Riyadh by Kwaasi and colleagues (1999), about 13% of patients in an atopic population tested positive on skin prick tests to at least two date fruit extracts.
Medjool dates are large, very soft and taste of caramel, and the variety originated in Morocco. Ajwa dates come from Madinah in Saudi Arabia and are small, roundish and near-black. Green Diamond's Ajwa page (Kurma ajwa Madinah) lists Ajwa in 1kg packs (Kurma Ajwa 1 kilo).
Putting it on the plate
The surveys above link vegetables, fruit and fewer snack foods with fewer wrinkles, without proving cause. Dates can sit in that kind of diet as a 30g mealtime portion of dried fruit. For a specific skin problem, ask a pharmacist or GP rather than relying on a diet article.
For questions, a price quote or an order, read about Medjool Dates Exporter or message us on WhatsApp 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
- Purba MB, Kouris-Blazos A, Wattanapenpaiboon N, et al. Skin wrinkling: can food make a difference? J Am Coll Nutr. 2001;20(1):71-80. PMID 11293471
- Whitehead RD, Re D, Xiao D, Ozakinci G, Perrett DI. You are what you eat: within-subject increases in fruit and vegetable consumption confer beneficial skin-color changes. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e32988. PMID 22412966
- NHS. Vitamins and minerals: others. nhs.uk
- Thomson CD, Chisholm A, McLachlan SK, Campbell JM. Brazil nuts: an effective way to improve selenium status. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008;87(2):379-84. PMID 18258628
- NHS. 5 A Day: what counts? nhs.uk
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central, SR Legacy 168191: Dates, medjool. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- 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
- Kwaasi AA, Harfi HA, Parhar RS, et al. Allergy to date fruits: characterization of antigens and allergens of fruits of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.). Allergy. 1999;54(12):1270-7. PMID 10688430