You are what you eat

Fruit and vegetable consumption is correlated with changes in skin redness and yellowness, as reported in the Mar. 7 issue of the open access journal PLoS ONE.

The researchers, led by Ross Whitehead and David Perrett of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, investigated whether the amount of fruit and vegetables eaten affects skin color. They monitored the fruit and vegetable intake for 35 individuals over six weeks and found that skin redness and yellowness increased with increasing fruit and vegetable consumption.

They also found that changes in skin color associated with increased fruit and vegetable consumption were correlated with increased attractiveness, suggesting that the skin color changes reflect improved health.

The participants in the study were primarily but not exclusively Caucasian, so further work must be done to understand potential diet effects on skin color in other populations.