Faces are more attractive when they have a “golden glow”, but the effect is better achieved by eating fruit and vegetables than by getting a tan, according to researchers.
By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent
Published: 3:08PM GMT 17 Nov 2009
The team behind the study said that the only way to achieve the most favoured look was to eat a diet high in fruit and vegetables Photo: GETTY
However, a darker, more tanned look appealed less
The team behind the study said that the only way to achieve the most favoured look was to eat a diet high in fruit and vegetables.
"This discovery is very exciting and has given us a promising lead into cues to health," said Prof David Perrett, from the perception laboratory at St Andrews University.
"The only natural way in which we can make our skin lighter and more yellow is to eat a more healthy diet high in fruit and vegetables."
"What we eat and not just how much we eat appears to be important for a healthy appearance,” he added.
Dr Ian Stephen, from Bristol University, one of the co-authors of the study, recommended eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day to improve the complexion.
“It is really the same message about health eating, but just for different reasons, for your skin tone, instead of for other health benefits,” he said.
Rosy skin tones slightly flushed with blood and full of oxygen make people look more healthy because they suggest a strong heart and lungs, the researchers believe.
Smokers along with people with heart disease or diabetes tend to have less rosy skin, making it appear less healthy.
The researchers believe that we prefer light golden or 'yellow-toned' skin because of the signal it sends about the amount of pigments from the fruit and vegetables in our diet.
These pigments are powerful antioxidants which help the body to fight disease and so can be strong signs of health in their own right.
The study used computer software which was able to manipulate the appearance of skin tone in a series of 51 images, 30 male and 21 female faces.
Researchers asked 54 people to adjust the skin colour of the faces to make them look as healthy as possible.
They found that the volunteers used the programme to increase the lightness and rosiness of the skin as well as the yellow tone.
The team said that while fruit and vegetables can make skin lighter and more yellow, a tan made the tone darker and more yellow.
The findings, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Unilever Research, are published in the International Journal of Primatology.
