Researchers say people can now add making skin more attractive to the list of the many benefits gained from eating vegetables.

According to a study by Ian Stephen from the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, eating fruits and vegetables high in carotenoids, a nutrient found in fruits, leafy greens and root vegetables, gave people’s skin a yellow and orange glow.  

“The carotene that a person eats actually accumulates under the skin and that’s why it gives it that orange color,” H. Tak Cheung, director emeritus for the School of Biological Sciences, explained. “Much of the vitamin actually stores under the skin.”

According to Cheung, carotenoid is the general class of a nutrient found in fruits and vegetables. Carotene is one type of that class of nutrient.

“There’s some minor chemical differences between the different members of the carotenoid [class],” Cheung explained.  

During the study, Stephen wanted to examine whether or not the glow obtained from eating fruits and vegetables rich in carotenoid would appear more attractive than the color the skin becomes while tanning in the sun.

Participants in the study were given photos of Caucasian people whose skin hue was adjusted from sun tanned to normal and then to the glow from the carotenoid diet.

“We found that given the choice between skin color caused by suntan and skin color caused by carotenoids, people preferred the carotenoid skin color,” Stephen said in a press release.

According to Dr. Jean Swearingen, medical director of Student Health Services, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

“Basically, you get the yellow-orange tint to the skin when you have an overload of beta-carotene, so that it deposits in the skin and other tissues. It might look healthier to a point, but if you have that much of a glow, it’s really a sign that you are getting too much of a good thing,” Swearingen said.

“If you eat too much of it, it’s not good for you,” Cheung said.

“Consuming too much of it has multiple side effects. It can cause intestinal upset...it can cause damage to your organs like your liver, maybe your kidneys. So too much is not a good thing,” Cheung added.

“Lots of vegetables are good to include as part of a balanced diet, but you should include a variety of vegetables and not overdo any one type,” Swearingen explained.

“A few things I would say are questionable. In many ways [the color change] is based on what your basic skin color is,” Cheung said.

Cheung also questioned the extent of the color change based on the individual person.

“If you consume a lot of carotenoid, your color might be different because your background color is different. I think it’s somewhat artificial when they only look at just a few people to make that comparison. It would probably only work for people with a very light skin color,” Cheung explained.