… you could try an apple a day to keep lines at bay

FORGET expensive face creams, antiageing lotions or painful procedures.

The secret to retaining a youthful glow could be found in your fruit bowl – if you are a woman. Scientists have found those who eat a healthy diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables have fewer wrinkles.

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

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. British shoppers, mainly women, spend an estimated £120million a year on anti-ageing face creams alone. Millions more are spent on tonics, moisturisers and serums.

Meanwhile, demand for the wrinkle-busting toxin Botox continues to rise, with the number of younger women having the jab increasing 50 per cent in recent years.

Researchers at Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam quizzed 2,700 men and women aged over 50 on their eating habits.

Each underwent a 3D face scan to measure the number of wrinkles. Women who had the highest intake of fresh fruit, vegetables and fish had the fewest facial lines.

Women who regularly ate large amounts of red meat, bread and sweets had the most. But healthy eaters who enjoyed a drink or two every day had more wrinkles – suggesting alcohol undoes some of the good that comes from eating nourishing foods.

Diet appeared to have no major bearing on the number of wrinkles on men’s faces, the research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found.

Previous studies have found women may be more prone to wrinkles as they 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 and alcohol showed significantly less facial wrinkles.’

Scientists believe fruit helps ensure the body has plenty of vitamins and flavonoids, which protect the skin against ageing.