Want to get glowing skin? You may not need expensive face creams if you add a few servings of fruits and vegetables to your diet. A small study published today in the journal PLoS One found that people who added three servings a day to their diet developed color changes to their skin that made them look healthier and more attractive.
In the study, which was sponsored by soap-maker Unilever, Scottish researchers asked 35 Caucasian and East Asian college students to fill out dietary questionnaires three times over a period of six weeks to calculate their fruit and vegetable consumption and how it changed over time. They also measured color changes in their skin and found that red skin tones heightened along with increased intakes of produce and decreased when consumption fell.
The researchers think the phenomenon has to do with carotenoids, plant chemicals known to cause changes in skin color. Beta carotene, for example, gives carrots their orange color and is known to cause a yellowish-orange tint to the skin in those who consume, say, an eight-ounce bag of baby carrots. “The accumulation of carotenoids causes these fat-soluble pigments to impart color to human skin,” wrote the researchers in the study.
Reddish produce such as tomatoes and red peppers, on the other hand, contain the carotenoid lycopene, which adds reddish tones to the skin.
To determine how many extra servings of fruits and vegetables were linked to noticeable changes in skin tone, the researchers conducted a second experiment using facial photos tinted with 20 different color variations and asked volunteers to rate them. Those who had skin color added to reflect the highest level of produce consumption were rated the most attractive and healthiest. The researchers found that an increase equivalent to three servings a day was enough to make a noticeable difference, though they also noted that individuals with darker skin such as Latinos or African Americans -- who weren’t included in the study -- may need to eat more to get a more noticeable change.
What’s fascinating are theories on how the body uses antioxidants in fruits and vegetables first to fend off harmful free radicals in the blood and then diverts any excess to the pocket of fat beneath the skin. “Carotenoid coloration is widely held to be an honest indicator of [health],” write the study authors, “due to a necessary trade-off between carotenoid expenditure as antioxidants and display in ornamentation.”
Deborah Kotz can be reached at dkotz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @debkotz2.