Avocados are good for your skin

Question

According to a health and wellness article published by The Vibrant Skin bar, Avocados are proven to be very beneficial for the skin. They contain vitals B,C, E and K which are all known for their health benefits. They also contain a good amount of magnesium and potassium that are known to combat bacteria that can grow on the skin barrier. To add they also contain omega 3 and 6 fatty acids that deeply hydrate the skin. Avocado can also be used as a topical treatment to reduce dark spots, eczema, and psoriasis.

https://vibrantskinbar.com/blog/avocado-benefits-for-skin/

Comments

Hi! I think this is a very well-written and evidence-based claim. With that being said, I would love to hear if there are any negative effects of avocados for the skin. When fact checking, I think it is important to weight both sides of an argument. I loved your part about bacteria on the skin creating a barrier. All together, great work!

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Your insights highlight a key issue with the fact-checking process: the absence of reliable support for specific claims, such as the one about avocado oil reducing breakouts. The linked article you provided contains general advice on acne-prone skin but lacks any mention of that particular claim, raising concerns about its origin and accuracy. Suggesting reliance on sources like government websites or peer-reviewed studies is amazing advice. Doing so ensures credibility and reinforces confidence in shared information, especially when discussing sensitive topics like skincare.

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The website where you found this claim seems biased, as they are a company that is clearly trying to get users to be customers or buy something from them. They also don't cite any sources besides their own articles to back up their claims. I would consider trying to find a more credible source to research from.

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Great job of using the info provided in the article, but the only issue is the website used seems somewhat biased. Most of the information from the website was cited by the website itself.

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I like your factcheck because you want to see both sides of the argument that the source doesn't provide. Good job!

Answer 1

Since this article was posted on a blog advertising skin care products, I decided to further research this claim through other institutions that don't have a profit incentive. However, this article was written by a Physician Assistant with qualified degrees and knowledge on skincare and cosmetics, so it is fair to assume she has credible information.

The first source I looked through to verify this claim is UCLA Health, and the study they conducted with the UCLA School of Medicine. This study is also linked in the original article. Through this study, the chief of the clinical nutrition division concluded that avocados are beneficial for your skin, but more-so when they are consumed rather than used as surface level products. They conducted a controlled experiment over 8 weeks to compare skin elasticity in women. It is worth mentioning this experiment was only conducted on female subjects, not a random selection, and they said the results may differ for male patients based on hormonal differences. Since the avocado diet improved the overall health and fiber of the patients, this in turn affected their skin types positively. However, these results may not have been the same from avocado products like face masks and oils, which are advertised in the original article.

The article from UCLA Health about the results: https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/eating-an-avocado-daily-increases-elasticity-and-firmness-in-skin-study-shows#:~:text=After%20eight%20weeks%2C%20the%20subjects,facial%20skin%20of%20healthy%20women.

The National Library of Medicine on the same study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9786235/

Answer 2

This claim seems to be very accurate and shows good evidence as to why avocados are very good for the skin. The article claims that the avocados omega-3 and omega-6 fats create good hydration for the skin and increases water retention, which helps with moisturizing. This is correct evidence because Aveeno had the same information about the omega-3 and 6 fatty acids and Aveeno is known for creating hydrating products. The article continues to state other ways avocados help rebuild the skin barrier such as reducing inflammation, alleviating sun damage, and increasing elasticity, which are all because of the vitamins within the avocado. It is very clear that this article is telling the truth due to the extensive information about the different kinds of fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals that are absorbed into the body after eating an avocado. 

Answer 3

A page on the site of a very well known skincare brand, Kiehl's, highlights and provides insight as to why avocados are beneficial to the skin. They have an entire line dedicated to products marketed with avocado as their key ingredient. Avocado's benefits in skincare include: its oil being a powerful moisturizer, rich in antioxidants, and soothing benefits. The benefits of avocados in skincare is backed up by research, in addition to these products from Kiehl's which have become some of their bestsellers and what they're known for.

https://www.kiehls.com/skincare/best-selling-skincare-products/?start=0&sz=36

Answer 4

I’ve heard this before, and while I am allergic to avocados, I wanted to investigate further. According to a study done by UCLA Health, 39 women ages 27-73 were assigned to eat one avocado daily, while the control group continued their regular diet for eight weeks. All selected had the same skin type, and a cutometer tested measurements of skin elasticity, firmness, pigmentation, sebum, and hydration under the eyes and on the forehead. After eight weeks, the test subjects who ate an avocado every day had increased elasticity and firmness in their skin compared to the control group. Not only are avocados good for your skin but they’re beneficial to your overall health as well, as they are a healthy fat. 

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/eating-an-avocado-daily-increases-elasticity-and-firmness-in-skin-study-shows

Answer 5

While investigating the source that this claim originated from, the website looked legitimate as it was one for a medical spa in Arizona. I saw that someone had fact checked this claim using another source and this source did not back up the original claim. However, when I clicked on one of the links in the original website, it brought me to a research done by the National Library of Medicine, showing how avocados provide protection against UV damage and suppress inflammatory responses. Additionally, a study conducted at UCLA found that eating avocados increases skin elasticity and fairness. Therefore, I believe the claim is true as more sources were in agreement versus disagreement with it.

Answer 6

Reading the article presented, it seems very reliable. The article provided a list of reasons that make sense to why avocados are good for your skin. To further prove this is true I researched the claim. I look at one of the skincare brands I trust the most. I feel they are very reputable in the skin care market and they also sided that this claim is true. So I think avocados are good for your skin.

Article Used: https://www.kiehls.com/skincare-advice/avocado-skin-benefits.html#:~:text=What%20you%20may%20not%20know,dry%20and%20sensitive%20skin%20types.

Answer 7

There was an experiment held by UCLA center for human nutrition where they grouped together 39 women and had them eat an avocado daily to put to the test if eating avocado does more benefits for your skin rather than applying it directly to the skin. This was an eight week experiment where they measured the skins elasticity, firmness, pigmentation, sebum and hydration. In the end, the group who ate an avocado a day had a noticeably increase in the skins appearance compared to the group who didn't participate. Keeping in mind that participants were picked based on same skin type. 

Article: https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/eating-an-avocado-daily-increases-elasticity-and-firmness-in-skin-study-shows

Answer 8

The blog offers an interesting insight into the potential for avocados to be good for your skin. The difference is that this source is a blog and isn't well fact checked. This source offers a unique perspective on how avocados may affect skin but the research only used people with similar skin types and thus different skin types may have different impacts and results.

Answer 9

Claim: Avocados are good for your skin

This article was interesting to read about because as a teen with acne I focus a lot on my own skin and how to heal this acne. There if valuable research imbedded in the article to prove the main claim however the article doesn't touch on the fact that this evidence might not be true for all skin types. From experience with cystic acne where a change in diet or addition to my meals does not help at all this claim would be false. I think that it is true for a lot of people with normal to dry skin because the evidence only backs up the moisture retention aspect.

Answer 10

After reviewing the source, it deems to be reliable and therefore, I believe the information to be credible and true. Another source backing this information up also claims that a high intake of fat - especially healthy monounsaturated fat, found in avocados, help increase skin elasticity and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Not only is the flesh of the fruit used for these beneficial purposes, but also an avocado's oil, found in many over-the-counter skin care lines.

https://www.healthline.com/health/avocado-benefits-for-skin#how-to-use