London - Healthy people really do have a "golden glow" – thanks to pigments in vegetables that give them a yellowish tinge.
Improving one’s fitness, a good diet with lots of fruit and vegetables, and getting enough sleep will do wonders for the complexion, scientists found.
And having a skin tone that has a touch of yellow indicated good health.
Scientists from St Andrews University monitored 134 participants over eight weeks for other possible reasons for a more golden glow, such as being outside more and having a suntan. But this did not account for the increase in a golden glow which came from a healthier lifestyle.
The yellow tones come from carotenoids – which are found in plant pigments such as the orange carotene in carrots.
The study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, said these pigments have a vital role in the body as anti-oxidants – neutralising toxins which would otherwise cause damage to the body’s structure.
The authors suggest skin yellowness could be an indicator of a person’s health by demonstrating that the body has enough antioxidant reserves and low levels of oxidative toxins.
Increased psychological stress and a loss of sleep were also associated with a reduction in skin yellowness.
Lead scientist David Perrett said: "We were surprised to find that the skin colour changes accompanying change in health occurred quite quickly."
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