Carotenoid "Glow"

             Monday’s botanical medicine lecture was pretty interesting. We just continued looking at different types of phytochemicals, but we also got to smell and taste a lot of essential oils. Some of them have very intense smells! One of the phytochemical categories we looked at today was tetraterpenes, also known as carotenoids (such as beta-carotene and lycopene). This brought up an interesting discussion about something known as the carotenoid glow. In addition to many of the health benefits that carotenoids provide (e.g. some carotenoids are “provitamin” A), they are also pigment molecules that can have an effect on the colour of your skin. The yellowish colour of your skin is influenced by melanin (which changes in response to the sun) and carotenoids. In a recent study in Evolution and Human Behaviour, researchers found that people found skin that was yellowish due to carotenoids looked healthier and more attractive than skin that was yellowish due to melanin. This is great news because it means you can eat healthy to get all the health benefits of carotenoids, and also have better looking skin without needing to do lots of unhealthy tanning. So get out of the sun so much and make sure you eat lots of vegetables, your body will thank you, and your skin will look great!

(the face in the middle shows the woman’s natural colour, the face on the left shows the effect of sun tanning, and the face on the right shows the effect of eating more carotenoids over two months. What do you think looks better?)