Eat your vegetables to avoid wrinkles
The heart-protective benefits of a diet high in legumes, vegetables and olive oil and low in full fat milk, red meat, cakes and pastries have been widely accepted for some time, but the same healthy diet may also have been shown to protect against skin wrinkling due to the sun.
An international study (Journal of the American College of Nutrition 2001; 20: 71-80) looked at 453 elderly people — 177 Greek-born people in Melbourne, 48 Anglo-Celtic Australians living in Melbourne, 69 Greek people living in rural Greece, and 159 Swedish people living in Sweden — in an effort to discover if the food and nutrients in their diet influenced how much skin wrinkling they had due to the sun.
The study — led by Professor Mark Wahlqvist of Monash University in Melbourne — assessed the food and nutrient intakes of the participants, and found that higher intakes of some foods and nutrients were associated with less damage to the skin.
The beneficial foods included vegetables (especially green leafy vegetables, spinach, onions and garlic), legumes, olives, nuts, dried fruits and apples and pears.
Nutrients that were found to be beneficial were a higher intake of total fat, particularly monounsaturated fat (good sources are extra virgin olive oil and avocados), vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc and retinol.
Foods that were found to be positively associated with skin damage were full-fat milk, as opposed to skim milk, red meat, potatoes, soft drinks/cordials, cakes and pastries.
The researchers concluded that skin wrinkling in parts of the skin exposed to the sun in older people of various ethnic backgrounds may be influenced by the types of food they consume.
Participants with the least skin wrinkling due to the sun were the Swedish, followed by the Greek-born Australians living in Melbourne, then the Greeks living in Greece and the Anglo-Celtic Australians living in Melbourne.
The study was welcomed by the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA). Nicole Senior, an accredited practising dietitian and spokesperson for the DAA, said ‘News like that is just another way of selling good nutrition.
‘There are many studies that show foods such as legumes, vegetables and olive oil can improve your health,’ she said.
‘People sometimes forget about their nutrition, especially young people.’
In their Dietary Guidelines for Australians, The National Health and Medical Research Council recommends that adults eat plenty of breads and cereals (preferably wholegrain), vegetables (including legumes) and fruits.
Vegetables are rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants include the vitamins A, C, and E and help the body deal with damaging oxygen free radicals formed during normal metabolism but also from ultraviolet radiation and pollution. The risk of developing heart disease or cancer is considerably lower in people who eat 5-7 serves of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.
Ms Senior said that legumes are a versatile and convenient food that can be part of all healthy diets, and that it is easy to include them in different meals.
‘Try dried peas and beans such as chick peas, soya beans, kidney beans and split peas,’ said Ms Senior.
‘Add a can of lentils to your pasta sauce, add kidney beans to meat dishes, tofu to a stir-fry, or just have baked beans on toast.
’Legumes are high in fibre, which is good news for your gut health, low in cholesterol and a valuable source of protein and iron for vegetarians,’ she said.
Last Reviewed: 08 October 2002
- 1. Purba MB, Kouris-Blazos A, Wattanapenpaiboon N, Lukito W, Rothenberg EM, Steen BC, Wahlqvist ML. Skin wrinkling: can food make a difference? J Am Coll Nutr. 2001 Feb; 20(1): 71-80.
