Dr Michael Mosley, the health and fitness expert, said the key to youthful-looking skin could be found in brightly coloured vegetables rich in carotenoids, such as carrots, tomatoes and sweet potatoes, rather than expensive treatments.
Dr Mosley, who founded The Fast 800, 5:2, The Way of Life and The Fast 800 Keto diet programmes, previously told listeners to his BBC Radio 4 programme 'Stay Young' that he had tried a range of treatments in the search for younger-looking skin.
What Dr Mosley said about his skin
He said: "Now I'm 66 years old and I've tried all sorts of ways to look younger including Botox, micro-needling, creams. I once even had my face burnt with a device which looked like a red hot iron."
He added: "All in the name of science obviously and none of these approaches were impressive enough to make me want to go back for more. At my age and after a lifetime of regularly getting sunburnt you might expect me to look really wrinkly. But I'm not. It could be because of my skin type or it could be because of something I've just pulled out of the oven."
The science behind the vegetables
Dr Mosley, who also presented the Just One Thing podcast, explained that the foods on his tray were rich in carotenoids, natural pigments that produce vibrant yellow, orange and red colours in plants.
He said: "Research has shown that your collagen levels and wrinkles can be greatly improved with diet. Several large-scale studies have found that those who eat more vegetables have far fewer wrinkles and plumper skin. One study found that eating lots of colourful veg - around 250 grams a day - was key to looking young."
Carotenoids are split into two primary categories: carotenes, which include beta-carotene found in carrots and sweet potatoes, and lycopene found in tomatoes and watermelon; and xanthophylls, which include lutein and zeaxanthin found in dark leafy greens like spinach and kale.
How carotenoids protect the skin
Dr Mosley noted that carotenoids are chemical cousins of retinol, considered the anti-ageing compound when it comes to wrinkles, and are highly effective antioxidants that protect the skin at the cellular level.
In lab tests, carotenoids have been shown to protect collagen-producing skin fibroblasts from damage caused by UV radiation and oxidative stress, both big drivers of skin ageing. They can also help skin retain moisture and boost collagen production, the most abundant protein in the body used to make connective tissue.
