While many people enjoy peanuts for their taste and crunch, not everyone knows the benefits. Peanuts have a lot of nutritional value: they are rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that make them a highly nutritious snack option. They also have skin-loving properties that help keep your skin smooth, healthy, and nourished.
The benefits of peanuts for skin include preventing inflammation and dry skin and promoting a wrinkle-free, smooth skin texture. Peanuts produce vast amounts of oleic acid, a fatty acid widely used in skincare. Oleic acid keeps the skin smooth by trapping natural moisture and eliminating wrinkles.
Here’s everything you need to know about the benefits of peanuts for your skin and your overall health.
What Affects the Health of Your Skin?
The skin is the largest organ in our body. It provides a barrier between us and the harsh outdoor environment. It also regulates heat within the body and protects us from harmful UV rays. But, as we age, our skin gets damaged and less healthy. There are many reasons why this happens:
The health of your skin is affected by environmental factors like sun exposure, smoking, or poor diet. What you put into your body can impact how your skin looks and feels. For example, a diet high in sugar and fat can cause your skin to produce more oil and develop wrinkles.
Peanuts are a great addition to your diet if you’re looking for something to boost your skin’s health. Peanuts contain incredible amounts of vitamin E, which is essential for the growth and maintenance of healthy skin cells.
Peanuts also contain selenium that helps fight off excess free radicals that can damage your skin cells. Resveratrol and folates are abundant in peanuts. Resveratrol helps protect against sunburns and signs of aging like wrinkles. Folate aid in skin development.
General Benefits of Peanuts for Your Skin
Peanuts are an all-time favorite among many of us and can be found in food products, candies, or just eaten raw. When people think about the benefits of peanuts for the skin, they think about how peanut butter can help seal in moisture and smooth out your skin.
Here are some other benefits of peanuts for skin at a glance:
- Peanuts can help soften the skin and make it smoother, thanks to a high content of essential fatty acids.
- Peanut oil can seal in natural moisture without the need to apply lotion.
- The vast amount of linoleic acid found in peanuts is good for keeping dry skin hydrated.
Other benefits of peanuts for the skin include:
Peanuts Contain Antioxidant Properties for the Skin
As mentioned earlier, peanuts have antioxidant properties derived from selenium, vitamins, and other nutrients. Antioxidants nurture and guard body cells against diseases of different kinds. For this reason, it would help if you included a serving or two in a senior’s diet whose immune system is low.
The high fiber content in peanuts helps to extract toxins from our body, leaving behind healthier skin.
Peanuts Help Keep Your Skin Moisturized
A major contributor to your skin’s health is hydration. Apart from daily water intake, regular intake of peanuts leaves the skin more hydrated and gets rid of its dryness. Oleic acid traps natural moisture within the skin without blocking the skin pores.
For more benefits, apply peanut oil directly to your skin. It should keep your skin moisturized and radiant.
Reduce Wrinkle Lines
When people age, their skin tends to have a loose and sagging appearance. People under too much stress often age faster and wrinkle lines grow on them at an alarming rate.
- Resveratrol found in peanut skins contains anti-aging properties, improves skin elasticity, and also reduces the appearance of wrinkle lines.
- Vitamin B in peanuts reduces the appearance of fine lines by keeping the skin’s natural moisture in check.
Protection From the Sun’s Harmful UV Rays
Cancer of the skin is mostly related to the sun’s harmful UV rays. The vitamin E in peanuts can absorb the sun’s UV rays, an important feature that aids in protecting the body against damage from the sun. Vitamin E is an essential aid in UV protection and can help to protect you from skin diseases caused by sun exposure.
Improved Scalp Health
Adequate intake of peanuts occasionally ensures that the scalp remains healthy and free from dandruff. Vitamin B in peanuts ensures that nutrients get to the scalp. It also enables the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen and nutrients to your scalp. This promotes hair growth.
Youthful Skin
People on skin routine programs are advised to use facial scrubs containing peanut butter which unclogs the skin pores, removes dead cells, and leaves it clean. A daily intake of peanuts or peanut butter keeps the skin nourished from all the vitamins and nutrients mentioned throughout this article.
If you’re suffering from dry skin, apply a few drops of peanut oil on damp skin and massage the affected areas. Do this for around 6-12 weeks. It should help keep the sunburns, wrinkles, and fine lines at bay.
Other Health Benefits of Peanuts
Peanuts are mostly taken as a snack or used as oil for cooking. They can also be roasted, boiled, fried, ground into butter, or taken raw. Whichever way you want it, here are other health benefits:
- Peanuts help in weight loss.
- Peanuts are a good source of dietary fiber that helps to prevent heart disease and colon cancer.
- Peanuts are rich in monounsaturated fats that help lower bad cholesterol levels in the bloodstream, which is especially beneficial for people suffering from heart problems or high cholesterol levels.
- Peanuts contain arginine, which is an amino acid that promotes muscle growth and repair after exercise sessions.
Peanuts are an ideal snack for athletes and those competing in competitions, since arginine helps to alleviate muscle soreness post-workout.
Peanuts play an essential role in preventing various skin issues. However, if you’re suffering from eczema and psoriasis, it’s wise to limit your intake. Peanuts trigger T cell and immunoglobulin-E release, which may cause inflammation.
Conclusion
Eating peanuts can be good for your skin. However, be sure not to take too much since they may pump more fats and calories into your body. A handful or two a day would be enough. If you prefer peanut butter, take two tablespoons a day on toast, a sandwich, or by itself.
