The secret to good skin is eating dark-coloured fresh produce, like plums and nectarines, and this adds to a man’s attractiveness, says new research.
Dr Ian Stephen of the University of Nottingham made the findings as part of his studies into effects on attractiveness of dietary carotenoids, such as those found in red or yellow fruit and vegetables.
An earlier study had shown that eating these pigments gave the skin a golden tone, and that men rated women with ‘golden’ skin as the most attractive.
“A new development in this area suggests that carotenoids might be even more important to our appearance than we previously thought,” said Dr Stephen.
“Whereas a feminine appearance is very important in determining the attractiveness of women, there has been debate among scientists about how important masculinity is for men.
“Our results suggest that the ‘golden’ colour associated with carotenoids is actually more important than masculinity, and predicted how attractive women found men's faces.”
Testing the theory
Meanwhile, a group of fruit growers has put the findings of Dr Stephen’s initial study on the attractiveness of women to the test.
Hortgro Services in South Africa asked 65 women to eat one plum and one nectarine every day for two weeks, asking them before and after questions about how attractive they felt. The results were as follows:
45.3% felt more confident about their appearance after eating the fruit
68.8% felt that their complexion was brighter and had a more natural glow than before
53.1% noticed that the condition of their skin improved
The beauty of it
“This study is a bit of fun,” said Dr Stephen, “but its results make sense in the context of our research.
“Our results show that people who eat more fruit and vegetables – especially those yellow and red fruit, such as plums and peaches, and green leafy veg like spinach, that contain high levels of red/yellow antioxidants – have a more ‘golden’ skin tone.
“This tone seems to have a much better effect on healthy appearance than a suntan. Since healthy appearance is a huge part of attractiveness, it seems as though fruit and vegetables can make you more attractive.”
