To keep Covid away, keep yourself pretty
A Texas Christian University study - where 79 women and 80 men were subjected to a beauty contest and a blood test - found that those judged most attractive had the highest rates of 'phagocytosis', the process by which white blood cells kill bacteria.One isn't likely to find the phrase 'Survival of the Hottest' in Charles Darwin's Origin of Species. Darwin wasn't pretty anyway. However, there's more than one reason to believe that 'unattractive' people - defined by general consensus, of course - aren't exactly Mother Nature's favourite. They have been handed the evolutionary short end of the stick through the ages, thus ensuring they have less chances of scoring dates - never mind scoring - than their better- looking counterparts. The same reasoning may hold for them being treated as well and paid as handsomely - or not. Now, new research states that the good-looking even have the upper hand in the fight against Covid.
A Texas Christian University study - where 79 women and 80 men were subjected to a beauty contest and a blood test - found that those judged most attractive had the highest rates of 'phagocytosis', the process by which white blood cells kill bacteria. Researchers added that one is drawn to symmetrical faces and dreamy eyes isn't 'cos one is shallow', but because these are 'markers of better immunity'. While the rest of us not-so-comely can no longer take solace in the adage 'beauty is only skin-deep', at least there's immunity-boosting superfoods, herbs and kadhas to turn to. Though kicking off a 10-step beauty routine while at it wouldn't hurt.
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Research article on this topic:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.2476
More than just a pretty face? The relationship between immune function and perceived facial attractiveness