How to Prevent Wrinkles with Diet

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The evidence supports the recommendation to follow a whole food, plant-based diet for healthier looking skin.

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Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“Skin Wrinkling: Can Food Make a Difference?” Population studies have found that healthy diets tend to be associated with less severe facial aging. Presumably, this is because unhealthy foods might increase the oxidative stress load, be pro-inflammatory, and the advanced glycation end products I talk about in my video The Best Diet for Healthy Aging––whereas healthy foods might provide protection by having an inside-out sunscreen effect, stimulating collagen production and DNA repair. This could help explain why a meat- and junk-predominant eating pattern was associated with more wrinkles, whereas a fruit-dominant pattern, or those eating more fruits, vegetables, and nuts may enjoy less wrinkling. Vegetables, beans, and olive oil appeared protective versus meat and dairy. Fish was initially correlated with less skin wrinkling, but the association disappeared upon multiple regression analyses, meaning it was likely a spurious link due to fish consumption being associated with, for example, other healthy foods, such as salad or cooked vegetables.

Higher vitamin C intakes were associated with lower odds of a wrinkled appearance in a study of 4,000 middle-aged American women. In terms of specific foods, yellow and green vegetables may be particularly protective. The Daniell scale was used to rate the extent of crow’s feet wrinkles around the eyes of 700 women. Those eating less than one daily serving of green and yellow veggies averaged about a three on the Daniell scale, while women eating more than two servings a day averaged closer to a two.

But maybe people who go out of their way to eat more vegetables also go out of their way to wear more sunblock. Or maybe people who eat more meat are out barbequing in the sun. Researchers suggest: “Global disease prevention strategies might benefit from emphasizing that a healthy diet is also linked to less facial wrinkling.” But first, we should make sure to establish cause and effect.

In my video How to Naturally Reduce Wrinkles with Food, I cover interventional studies showing that two palmfuls of almonds a day can both increase the UV resistance of people’s skin, and decrease wrinkle severity and width, compared to those instead randomized to nut-free snacks.

What other foods have been shown to counter skin aging? The amount of flaxseed oil found in a daily 3/4 of a tablespoon (11.25 g) of ground flaxseeds significantly increased skin smoothness compared to placebo within six weeks. In vitro, sulforaphane, the cruciferous compound in broccoli, is able to mitigate the premature skin aging induced by air pollution particulate matter in vitro, but it has not been put to the test. But a component of soy foods has been tested. Postmenopausal women were given four servings a day of soy foods worth of isoflavones for six months. Unfortunately, there was no control group, but they did take skin biopsies from their butts before and after, and found a significant improvement in skin thickness, along with increased collagen content and elastic fibers.

How about a randomized controlled trial with a more modest soy intake? About a serving and a half a day of soy’s worth of isoflavones was pitted against placebo in middle-aged women. Facial skin elasticity improved by week eight, and an improvement in fine wrinkles was noted by week 12. Another 12-week study using equol directly, which is a compound that good gut bacteria can turn soy isoflavones into, found a significant reduction in wrinkle depth––though you have to have the right gut bugs. See my video How to Convert Into an Equol Producer.

The only other interventional food study on wrinkles I could find tested one of my favorite fruits—mangoes. Feeding mango to mice reduced UV-induced wrinkle formation, but it wasn’t put to the test in people until 2020. Light-skinned postmenopausal women were randomized to eat about a half cup (120 ml) of champagne mango, or around a cup and a half (360 ml) every day for 16 weeks. Lucky ducks! Unfortunately, as an exploratory study, there was no usual diet control group. But compared to baseline, the deep-wrinkle severity in the half-cup group decreased significantly by week eight, and remained so for the duration of the study. In contrast, to the funding National Mango Board’s chagrin, average wrinkle severity got worse by the end of the 16 weeks in the cup and a half group. The researchers suggested it might have been due to the extra sugar intake, but there weren’t actually any changes in blood sugar levels, so it remains a mystery.

The paucity of interventional trials limits the confidence one can put into recommendations, but the best approximation for an anti-wrinkle diet would be one naturally rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, would limit sugar spikes and glycation both by limiting added sugars and refined carbs, and avoid preformed advanced glycation end products found in fried, grilled, and broiled meats. In other words, when patients inquire about a diet that might contribute to younger-looking skin, evidence supports the recommendation to follow a whole food, plant-based diet.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Motion graphics by Avo Media

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“Skin Wrinkling: Can Food Make a Difference?” Population studies have found that healthy diets tend to be associated with less severe facial aging. Presumably, this is because unhealthy foods might increase the oxidative stress load, be pro-inflammatory, and the advanced glycation end products I talk about in my video The Best Diet for Healthy Aging––whereas healthy foods might provide protection by having an inside-out sunscreen effect, stimulating collagen production and DNA repair. This could help explain why a meat- and junk-predominant eating pattern was associated with more wrinkles, whereas a fruit-dominant pattern, or those eating more fruits, vegetables, and nuts may enjoy less wrinkling. Vegetables, beans, and olive oil appeared protective versus meat and dairy. Fish was initially correlated with less skin wrinkling, but the association disappeared upon multiple regression analyses, meaning it was likely a spurious link due to fish consumption being associated with, for example, other healthy foods, such as salad or cooked vegetables.

Higher vitamin C intakes were associated with lower odds of a wrinkled appearance in a study of 4,000 middle-aged American women. In terms of specific foods, yellow and green vegetables may be particularly protective. The Daniell scale was used to rate the extent of crow’s feet wrinkles around the eyes of 700 women. Those eating less than one daily serving of green and yellow veggies averaged about a three on the Daniell scale, while women eating more than two servings a day averaged closer to a two.

But maybe people who go out of their way to eat more vegetables also go out of their way to wear more sunblock. Or maybe people who eat more meat are out barbequing in the sun. Researchers suggest: “Global disease prevention strategies might benefit from emphasizing that a healthy diet is also linked to less facial wrinkling.” But first, we should make sure to establish cause and effect.

In my video How to Naturally Reduce Wrinkles with Food, I cover interventional studies showing that two palmfuls of almonds a day can both increase the UV resistance of people’s skin, and decrease wrinkle severity and width, compared to those instead randomized to nut-free snacks.

What other foods have been shown to counter skin aging? The amount of flaxseed oil found in a daily 3/4 of a tablespoon (11.25 g) of ground flaxseeds significantly increased skin smoothness compared to placebo within six weeks. In vitro, sulforaphane, the cruciferous compound in broccoli, is able to mitigate the premature skin aging induced by air pollution particulate matter in vitro, but it has not been put to the test. But a component of soy foods has been tested. Postmenopausal women were given four servings a day of soy foods worth of isoflavones for six months. Unfortunately, there was no control group, but they did take skin biopsies from their butts before and after, and found a significant improvement in skin thickness, along with increased collagen content and elastic fibers.

How about a randomized controlled trial with a more modest soy intake? About a serving and a half a day of soy’s worth of isoflavones was pitted against placebo in middle-aged women. Facial skin elasticity improved by week eight, and an improvement in fine wrinkles was noted by week 12. Another 12-week study using equol directly, which is a compound that good gut bacteria can turn soy isoflavones into, found a significant reduction in wrinkle depth––though you have to have the right gut bugs. See my video How to Convert Into an Equol Producer.

The only other interventional food study on wrinkles I could find tested one of my favorite fruits—mangoes. Feeding mango to mice reduced UV-induced wrinkle formation, but it wasn’t put to the test in people until 2020. Light-skinned postmenopausal women were randomized to eat about a half cup (120 ml) of champagne mango, or around a cup and a half (360 ml) every day for 16 weeks. Lucky ducks! Unfortunately, as an exploratory study, there was no usual diet control group. But compared to baseline, the deep-wrinkle severity in the half-cup group decreased significantly by week eight, and remained so for the duration of the study. In contrast, to the funding National Mango Board’s chagrin, average wrinkle severity got worse by the end of the 16 weeks in the cup and a half group. The researchers suggested it might have been due to the extra sugar intake, but there weren’t actually any changes in blood sugar levels, so it remains a mystery.

The paucity of interventional trials limits the confidence one can put into recommendations, but the best approximation for an anti-wrinkle diet would be one naturally rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, would limit sugar spikes and glycation both by limiting added sugars and refined carbs, and avoid preformed advanced glycation end products found in fried, grilled, and broiled meats. In other words, when patients inquire about a diet that might contribute to younger-looking skin, evidence supports the recommendation to follow a whole food, plant-based diet.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Motion graphics by Avo Media

Doctor's Note

The other videos I mentioned: 

For more on wrinkles and skin aging, see: 

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