Researchers have claimed that a golden glow is the healthiest and most attractive look for Caucasian skin.
 
Specialist computer software was used by St Andrews University to allow people to manipulate skin color to make images look healthier. A more rosy, yellow and bright skin was chosen by most people. Researchers said that eating fruit and vegetables would be a better way of achieving this complexion instead of darkening the skin through a suntan.
 
The pigment, Melanin, causes the tan color when you expose your skin to the sun and makes the skin darker and more yellow but a lighter and more yellow look is preferred. Professor David Perrett, head of the perception lab at St Andrews University, where the research took place said, “This discovery is very exciting and has given us a promising lead into cues to health”.
 
He said skin that was slightly flushed with blood and full of oxygen suggests a healthy heart and lungs, supporting the study’s findings that rosier skin appeared healthy.
 
People and smokers with diabetes or heart disease have fewer blood vessels in their skin, and so skin would look less rosy.
 
A more golden skin is preferred as healthier and this might be explained by the carotenoid pigments that we get from the fruit and vegetables in our diet.
 
Plant pigments are strong antioxidants which absorb dangerous compounds produced when the body fights with disease. They may also be helpful in preventing cancer as well as be important for our immune and reproductive systems.

(Image Source: skindermatology.com)