Forget the expensive anti-ageing skin creams! An apple a day keeps the wrinkles at bay – for women

Forget expensive face creams or anti-ageing lotions.

The secret to staying young-looking can actually be found in your fruit bowl – if you are a woman, according to Daily Mail.

Scientists have found women who eat a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables have fewer wrinkles when they pass the age of 50 than those who don’t eat as healthily.

But eating well apparently makes no difference to a man’s facial appearance, researchers found.

Women who ate more bread, red meat and sweets had more wrinkles. 

 The findings suggest snacking on fruit could be a much cheaper alternative than pots of cream and bottles of lotion for women seeking younger-looking skin.

How the research was carried out 

Researchers quizzed 2,700 men and women aged over 50 on their eating habits.

Each one then underwent a 3D face scan to measure the number of wrinkles.

The results showed women who had the highest intake of fresh fruit, vegetables and fish had the fewest lines on their faces.

But women who regularly ate large amounts of red meat, bread and sweets had the most.

Healthy-eaters who enjoyed a drink or two every day had more wrinkles.

And eating habits appeared to have no major bearing on the number of wrinkles on men’s faces.

Women are more prone to wrinkles

Previous studies have found women may be more prone to wrinkles and one reason may be they tend to have thinner skin.

Researcher Dr Selma Mekic said: ‘In addition to not smoking and protecting the skin from the sun, this work suggests women who wish to look younger longer may now have another way to delay the development of wrinkles.

‘Those with high scores for fruits, vegetables, and fish, and low scores for meats, sugars, saturated fats, showed significantly less facial wrinkles.

‘But this was only the case for women.

‘No difference was observed between men who ate a healthy diet and those who did not?’

 

Scientists think a fruit-rich diet helps by ensuring the body has plenty of vitamins and flavonoids.

These are health-boosting compounds that protect the skin against ageing and stimulate the growth of collagen – the fibre that keeps skin stretchy and taut. 

Women are thought to be more susceptible to wrinkles because they have a lower density of collagen in the skin – men have a higher density so may look young for longer.  

Dr Sajjad Rajpar, a consultant dermatologist said: ‘Because of their thinner skin, as they lose collagen with ageing, women are more likely to develop lines and wrinkles.’  

Products claiming to improve ageing skin include eye creams, supplements, botox and even stem cell injections.

Two entrepreneurs have created a vitamin C shower head which softens tap water and douses the body in the vitamin in a bid to banish wrinkles.

N.H.Kh