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Chris Pizzello / AP file
Scottish researchers may have poked a hole in the "Jersey Shore" motto "gym, tan, laundry." (Here, Snooki -- sorry, we mean Nicole Polizzi -- arrives at the 2010 Grammy Awards.)
Forget tanning. Loading up on fruits and veggies actually gives your skin a healthier, more attractive glow, a new Scottish study says. (Sorry, Snooki.)
"Attractiveness is very closely related to healthy appearance; they’re almost the same thing," explains Ian Stephen, who's currently an assistant professor of psychology at the Malaysia campus of the University of Nottingham, although he did the research for the study at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Stephen is the lead author of the study, published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior.
Carrots really can turn your skin a yellowish, orangeish color; it's not just some blogger dude's gimmick. It's due to carotenoids, a naturally-occuring pigment found in many fruits and vegetables (not just carrots).
In an experiment, participants (all white, all undergrads) used a specially-designed computer program that allowed them to manipulate the skin tone of 51 photographed faces (also all white, all undergrads). They were instructed to make the faces look healthier, either by increasing the appearance of melanin (sun tan) or carotenoids (veggie tan). Most study participants slightly increased the melanin, but they really pumped up the carotenoids: the amount of increased carotenoid color they chose is equal to an extra five servings of fruits or vegetables a day, Stephen said.
A veggie tan beats a suntan. Who knew?
At South Africa's University of Pretoria, a group of black, South African students used the same program to manipulate the skin tone of photographs of other black, South African students' faces, in another experiment included in the report. Like their white, Scottish counterparts, these students also chose the skin tone that "simulates not the fashion, and not the suntan, but the carotenoids," Stephen says.
But he still wouldn't recommend an all-carrot diet; while carotenoids are helpful to the immune system, too much can result in a skin tone that appears more jaundiced than golden. (Not a great look.)
What do you think of this study? Have we finally uncovered the secret to John Boehner's orange-y hue?
You can find The Body Odd on Twitter and Facebook, and follow Melissa Dahl @melissadahl.
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Leave a Comment:
I find her so odd looking. She's quite a curiousity. Like a cross between Jessica Rabbit and Miss Piggy.
That really is just what see looks like. An astute observation. The thing I'm curious about is what this girl is going to look like by the time she hits 40, assuming she lives that long.
True!! eh-yuck!! Why not do half tan half veggie servings? Not that i tan often.. it tends to make your skin look terrible..!!
Nothing beats the natural look, instead of these fake, ugly, orange tans or the skin-damaging tanning bed. If you're naturally pale or naturally tanned, that's when skin looks healthiest and most beautiful.
Exercise is what really makes people look good. Not a tan or thick layer of makeup.
She looks like an Oompa Loompa....
So, what does John Boehner do? Drink a gallon of Mango Madness every day?
Just about everybody looks the best with their natural skin color, whether it is fair or tan. Fake tans and over done tans look terrible and destroy the skin, making it look leathery and wrinkled after a few years.
we have a name for that color it is called "Horrange" Horribly Orange...
my neighbor and her 12 year old daughter spend an UNGODLY amount of time in their own tanning bed. Mom's face looks like a suitcase, (especially THAT early in the morning to someone who hasnt had her coffee yet), imagine what she has done to her daughter!! by the time she is 21, she will look as leathery as her mother...how can people think it is attractive?
i am so happy my daughters (19, 17 and 12) know that it is not safe, attractive, or anything they want to involve themselves with!
Just wait until the cancers kick in.. i suppose?
In order to tan properly like Snooki, one would first have to become a skank.
I already eat five servings of fruits and veggies every day. Not hard to do--really. Oe at breakfast and two at the other meals. From this article, however, it appears I would have to eat "five times" (25 servings!) more to get a golden glow. Sorry. No can do. I'll just remain my peachy pink self. Like who wants to look like Snookie ayway??!! I'll go for Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore.
I hope carrot juice serves the same purpose, would be easier than eating carrots all day.
When my first son was born in the mid-80's, he was't fond of green veggies...I was young mom, wanted him to be happy and allowed him to eat mostly the carrots, squash, etc.
After a month or so, someone mentioned his skin tone, really noticable on his knees, began to take on a decidedly orange hue. Pffft, we don't need no stinkin' studies.
I had an orange kid at one point in time, too. She faded back to a 'normal' tone once her diet had more variety. The squash and carrots are such great starter foods, a lot of kids get that orange tint.
A bad accident in 1985 resulted in 6 weeks of coma and a long rehab. and all my senses changed. My taste is real sensitive and I only eat healthy food now - celery, sweet peas, green beans, salads, especially carrots.
No sun bathing for me anymore but I have a sun tan glow from the carrots and don't have to worry about my weight. Stop wasting your time eating that trash and dieting to work it off. Give it a try and good luck!
This isn't surprising to me at all. This is exactly why people who eat mostly a raw vegan diet sometimes have a vibrant, healthy glow about them. It's because there's so much more life in the food.
The pill geeks will be starting up a new veggie tan extract pill for people that dont want to eat something actually good for them.... $50 a bottle for one month supply... only works after 5 month :P
Ultimately RFID theft of credit information will become so rampant they will give up and let everyone just go to the store and take whatever food they want through the US Food Credits program, at that point, Americans will spend their time in the Ding-Dongs and Starbucks aisles, and taking on a decidedly lighter shade of pale. For the third of Americans who are unlucky and out of work and don't qualify for tax-as-you go Food Credits, there is always dumpster diving. Carrots are one of the last things to liquefy, and easiest to bleach and eat. Numm, numm, numm.... This article is so shallow and out of touch with reality it belongs in Amazing Stories.
Whatever you're eating Herman I'll pass, L.O.L.
As for Bohner, I didn't know there was a hard liquor made out of carrots.