Forget sun beds, sunbathing and fake tanning lotions. The secret to a sexy, healthy glow lies in eating your vegetables everyday, reveals new breakthrough research.
A new and innovative study recently published in sheds new light on the importance of skin color as a determiner of facial attractiveness. It also shows that carotenoid coloration has the upper hand over melanisation (tanning) when it comes to the rules of attraction.
“Skin coloration can arise as a result of two distinct processes,” explain the team leading the research: through tanning (melanisation) or the assimilation of fruit and vegetables (carotenoid ingestion).
While it is known that red and yellow pigments found in bright fruit and vegetables increase skin yellowness, recent studies have shown that “carotenoid coloration is a more important factor in healthy appearance than melanin coloration,” clarify the academics.
Determined to investigate the importance of skin color in judgements of facial attractiveness, as well as mate choices, in three separate, yet linked, Internet-based studies, the team set out to examine the importance of high levels of these pigments (carotenoids and melanin) in attraction choices.
Establishing the preference for one pigment over the other in judging the appeal of a face was also crucial to the research.
In the first two studies, two separate groups of 60 participants were shown 27 base faces, specifically created for the purpose of testing. Through color manipulation, the skin area of these composite faces was altered alongside the axis of carotenoid or melanin-associated derma colors.
High and low pigment versions of each face were shown in pairs to the partakers, who had to indicate which one they thought more attractive. Results from both studies showed a clear preference for strong color values; 86% of the attendants to the first study voted for the high carotenoid version, while 78.5% of the participants to the second one opted for the high melanin variant.
But that was not all: in a third and final study, the team pitched 24 high carotenoid and high melanin(tanned) faces against each other, asking attendants to choose the one deemed more appealing; results showed a 75.9% preference for carotenoid coloring over the melanin one.
This interesting research breaks new ground as it is the first to show strong evidence for the importance of skin coloration in attractiveness judgements. What’s more, it clearly exposes “the importance of carotenoid coloration as a cue to current health and attractiveness, [a fact that] may be pivotal in mate choices,” explain the team.
So, if eating too many carrots has worried you so far, it’s time to think again. Turning orange may not be that bad, after all.
-The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
Dr. Keith & Laurie Nemec’s comments on “Exercise Increases White Matter in the Brain”:
What a great study that showed people prefer the healthy glow of green and orange vegetables to that of tanning or nothing at all. This study showed that people are actually attracted to those who have this carotenoid glow as opposed to those who have a tan. The researchers say it is a natural attraction to a color of health promotion meaning that you are attracted to someone who is naturally healthy versus artificially colored by tanning or even with lots of makeup. The researchers made a strong point that this is probably linked to survival tendency to be attracted to the person who is healthy and would be most able to stay healthy and support and raise a family.
What is beauty? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but as far as this study goes beauty is defined as a healthy glow that most people were attracted to.
So much money is spent in this country on skin lotions, potions and cosmetics. If more was spent on health promoting activities including diet, exercise, sleep and lifestyle changes, most would be amazed of how much better one would look and feel with a lot less lotions and makeup.
The reason the study proved that people are attracted to the healthy vegetable glow is because people are naturally attracted to healthy, fit and vital people who take care of themselves with proper diet, exercise, sleep, water consumption and who do not need a lot of cover ups because their skin, face and complexion are truly radiant, the God designed way.
So before you run to get a tan or prepare to put a lot of make up on your face think about your health which is made inside and then projects outward into the skin. Your skin is a primary detoxification organ which means it purges the body of impurities and toxins. If you want beautiful skin then become healthy by following the 7 Basic Steps to Total Healthevery day of your life.
So what can you do today for your beauty regime? Start drinking at least 8-10 glasses of purified water every day. Your skin is made of mostly water. If you do not drink enough your skin will wrinkle do to the dehydration and the less water to flush out chemicals and toxins the more toxic your skin will become. Next, start eating raw green and orange vegetables in salads or juicing (greens only to avoid the sugar overload). The antioxidants and phytochemicals in raw green vegetables are second to none for your health. Start eating salads with kale, collards, dandelion, spinach and broccoli. You can add some green onion, shaved yam and carrot to give it a nice flavor.
Next is sleep. If you do not sleep enough hour’s premidnight then your skin will sag much easier because most of your healing occurs before midnight so get to bed by 8PM but no later than 9PM.
Do not forget to exercise to increase the flow of the fluids in your body. The best is rebounding cellular exercise, then comes cardio workouts like going up and down stairs or going for a brisk walk.
Remember beauty is always there when you are truly healthy in body, mind and spirit.
