(Photo: Pexels/ Adrienn)
Refined carbohydrates don't only affect the scale; they also influence your appearance just hours after consuming them. And its effects may depend on the time of the day and who consumes them.
Refined Carbs Makes You Less Attractive in the Morning
A new study examined how refined carbohydrates influence one's attractiveness. Refined carbohydrates are highly processed carbs in which much of their nutritional value has been removed, and they typically account for 42% of our daily calorie consumption. Typical examples are cereal, white bread, potato chips, pizza, pastries, bagels, pasta, and more.
Since they are low-quality carbs, they are associated with obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Additionally, they are linked to how people perceive attractiveness.
Claire Berticat, a researcher at the University of Montpellier in France, said in a statement that although the effects of refined carbs on some hormones are well-established, it is less known that sex hormones can also be affected. Sex hormones affect specific characteristics, like face attractiveness. Therefore, the prospect of discovering a hitherto undiscovered relationship between refined carbohydrate consumption and beauty was very alluring.
Berticat and associates examined 104 adult males and females. A low-glycemic meal, high in protein and non-processed whole grains, or a high-glycemic breakfast, rich in refined carbs known to raise blood sugar levels, was served to the participants.
To determine how frequently they typically ate refined carbohydrates, the participants were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their typical dietary habits. They then identified the immediate effects of refined carbohydrate consumption by conducting controlled studies where individuals ate either high or low-glycemic breakfasts.
They could comprehend refined carbohydrate consumption's short- and long-term impacts on appearance. Two hours after the dietary intervention, a second set of volunteers was asked to rate the subjects' facial attractiveness.
They discovered that either acute or chronic ingestion of refined carbs impacts face attractiveness. These results held regardless of the BMI of the subjects.
High-Glycemic Afternoon Snacks Make Males More Attractive
Refined carbohydrates have a high glycemic index. However, consuming them in the afternoon yields different results. Many women found men who ate high-glycemic afternoon snacks more attractive.
According to Berticat, we discovered that the outcomes varied, at least for men, based on the three meals of the day -- breakfast, afternoon snack, and between-meal snack. The complexity of dietary influences on physiology is highlighted by the disparate effects of different meals on attractiveness.
For many people, afternoon eating satisfies an actual hunger need. It causes insulin and plasma glucose levels to fall, which encourages eating. Because they provide an instant glucose increase, men who eat high-glycemic load snacks during this time may seem more attractive.
For women, however, the same outcomes were not observed. Researchers saw variations in the reactions of men and women to certain meals. Sex disparities were expected because men and women have different physiologies and metabolisms.
According to Berticat, the results provide a powerful reminder of the extensive influence of dietary decisions on features that are particularly important to society, such as facial attractiveness and health. Examining the potential effects of refined carbohydrate consumption on additional characteristics impacted by sexual hormones may yield important insights into the intricate relationship between biology, nutrition, and social behavior.
RELATED ARTICLE: Nanocapsules for a More Effective Chemodynamic Therapy Developed for One-Step Cancer-Fighting Approach
Check out more news and information on Medicine & Health in Science Times.