Almond oil has a long history in many different schools of traditional medicine. It is used for a wide variety of purposes, but it is best known for its use in skin care. Read on to learn more about almond oil and its potential uses for boosting your health.<\/p>\n
Almonds (Prunus dulcis<\/i>) are native to hot climates and grow in a wide range of environments throughout Southwest Asia and the Middle East.<\/p>\n
There are 2 main varieties of almonds<\/b>: the sweet almond (Prunus dulcis <\/i>var. dulcis<\/i>) and the bitter almond (Prunus dulcis<\/i> var. amara<\/i>). Almonds themselves are also referred to as Prunus amygdalus<\/i> or Amygdalus communis<\/i>. Almond oil is sometimes referred to as Oleum amygdalae<\/i> in the scientific literature [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n There is a popular misconception that cultivated sweet almonds – the type you usually find in the grocery store – contain potentially dangerous levels of cyanide. Sweet almonds are safe, but bitter almonds produce almost 50 times more cyanide than the same amount of sweet almonds. Wild and bitter almonds contain a compound called cyanogenic glycoside<\/i> (or amygdalin<\/i>, a specific type of this compound) that can produce cyanide. These particular types of almonds need to be roasted or otherwise processed to make them safe to eat [R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Many studies comparing whole almonds and equal amounts of almond oil have found few differences in their effects. This suggests that the majority of the activity of almonds can be attributed to their oil [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n There are 2 primary types of almond oil: sweet almond oil and bitter almond oil.<\/b> As their names suggest, these two oils are extracted from different varieties of almonds [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n These different types of almond oil have different uses, although the type of almond oil used in scientific studies is almost always sweet almond oil due to safety concerns about the potential toxicity of bitter almond oil.<\/p>\n However, be aware that the term \u201calmond oil\u201d may sometimes be preceded by the name of a different fruit. Products with names like these are not actually made from almonds, but rather are different names for oils made from other plants (for example, \u201cpeach almond oil\u201d is actually oil made from peach kernels).<\/p>\n Almonds are packed with nutrients such as [R<\/a>, R<\/a>]:<\/p>\n Almonds also have high-fat content, but most of this is unsaturated fat<\/a> [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n The fatty acids in almond oil are mostly oleic acid<\/a> and linoleic acid, with traces of other types of fatty acids. These 2 fatty acids are believed to be the most relevant components of the potential health benefits of almond oil [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n However, the precise amount of each component in any particular batch of almonds or almond oil may vary according to the variety of almond used, the year they were harvested, the location of the orchard they were grown in, and other differences in processing and storage [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Sweet almond oil is used as a carrier oil, which means that it is used to dilute other essential oils to make them safer for use on the skin. This is because sweet almond oil does not evaporate easily, has a mild smell, and is readily absorbed by the skin. For these reasons, sweet almond oil is also often used as a placebo or control treatment in aromatherapy studies [R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Its role as a carrier oil also gives it unique properties when used to deliver other drugs and compounds. A study on 20 menopausal women found that using sweet almond oil as a carrier for delivering the hormone progesterone<\/a> (in the form of a nasal spray) was better than using a different carrier oil (in this case, dimethicone<\/i>). Using almond oil allowed more progesterone to enter the bloodstream, which increased its effectiveness [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Sweet almond oil is also used in massages<\/a> and skincare products.<\/p>\n Additionally, sweet almond oil is used as a flavoring in many types of food, or even eaten by itself.<\/p>\n Bitter almond oil is used in cooking, as well for a variety of health-related uses.<\/p>\n In cooking, bitter almond oil is typically used as a flavoring syrup. The taste of food-grade bitter almond oil comes primarily from a compound called benzaldehyde<\/i>, which is present in artificial bitter almond flavorings as well. Bitter almond oil is used to flavor foods such as marzipan, and liqueurs such as Amaretto.<\/p>\n Food-grade bitter almond oil is treated to remove the amygdalin (a compound in bitter almonds that gets metabolized into cyanide) so that eating it will not lead to cyanide poisoning. However, crude bitter almond oil (not food-grade) generally will not have been through this treatment; we therefore strongly recommend against using crude bitter almond oil for any reason [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Outside of cooking, bitter almond oil is also sometimes used as an essential oil (concentrated plant extracts with strong aromas commonly used in aromatherapy).<\/p>\n Almond oil is widely added to skincare products intended for topical use. While these are generally recognized as safe, there is no safety data available about either topical use or ingestion of almond oil.<\/p>\n Furthermore, almond oil has not been approved by the FDA for the purpose of improving skin health. Talk to your doctor before using almond oil.<\/p>\nTypes<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Components<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
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How Almond Oil Is Used<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Sweet Almond Oil<\/b><\/h4>\n
Bitter Almond Oil<\/b><\/h4>\n
Almond Oil & Skin Health<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n