Heavily marketed, lightly evidenced. Most claims rest on small, short trials with subjective endpoints.
Skin structure, photoprotection, hydration and ageing markers.
7 foods, grouped by the strongest rating any of its claims in this area reaches. Ratings describe the research, not the food. How ratings are decided.
Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.
Cocos nucifera
Fat extracted from coconut flesh, solid below about 24 degrees Celsius and dominated by saturated fatty acids, principally lauric…
Skin structure and hydration: Evidence is limited but real for topical use rather than eating: small trials report improved skin barrier hydration when virgin coconut oil is applied to dry skin and in mild atopic dermatitis.
Solanum lycopersicum
The fruit of a nightshade plant, used culinarily as a vegetable. Its red colour comes from lycopene, which becomes considerably…
Skin photoprotection: Some small trials report that daily tomato paste over several weeks slightly raises the ultraviolet dose needed to redden skin. The effect is modest, the trials are few, and it is nowhere near a substitute for sunscreen.
Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.
Prunus dulcis
The edible seed of a stone fruit closely related to the peach, eaten raw, roasted or ground into flour and butter. The USDA…
Skin structure and hydration: There is not enough dependable human research behind almond and skin-wrinkle claims. The few trials are small, short and mostly funded by the industry that markets the product.
Persea americana
A large single-seeded berry with dense, oily flesh, unusual among fruits for being mostly fat rather than carbohydrate. It ripens…
Skin structure and hydration: Avocado is heavily marketed for skin elasticity and hydration. Human research on eating it and any measured skin outcome is minimal, and what exists is small and not independently repeated.
Animal bones and connective tissue simmered for many hours, which hydrolyses collagen into gelatin and gives the cooled liquid…
Skin structure and hydration: Evidence is limited for bone broth affecting skin. The popular claim borrows from collagen peptide supplement trials, which use a measured daily dose of a specific hydrolysate; bone broth itself has not been tested for skin endpoints.
Mangifera indica
A tropical stone fruit in the cashew family, with hundreds of cultivars differing sharply in fibre, sweetness and aroma. Eaten…
Skin photoprotection: Mango is often marketed for skin appearance and sun resistance. Human research on eating mango and any skin endpoint is scarce, and what exists is small and not independently repeated.
Fragaria x ananassa
The aggregate fruit of a low-growing Rosaceae plant, with the seeds carried on the outside. Sold fresh year-round and frozen,…
Skin structure and hydration: Strawberries are widely promoted for skin appearance, but there is no dependable body of human research behind that. What exists is laboratory work on isolated extracts rather than trials of eating the fruit.