Stop getting annoyed by that patch of grey hair on your scalp, as a new study has found that it could be a sign of healthy body. Spanish scientists, who studied wild boars, found that having grey hair and a rather grizzled look could actually be a sign that you have a long and healthy life ahead of you.

Scientists said gray hair, which results from absence of melanin, seemed to be a mark of good health in wild boars. “As with human hair, wild boars show hair graying all across their fur,” Galvan said.
 
“But we found that boars showing hair graying were actually those in prime condition and with the lowest levels of oxidative damage,” he said. Scientists, however, said that being a redhead could make one more susceptible to illness, an observation found in wild boar populations.

According to the report published in the current issue of the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, wild boars with reddish coats have more cell damage than more mundanely coloured wild pigs.

They say the reason is that the production of red pigment uses up an antioxidant that could otherwise destroy the free radicals that damage cells.
 
In humans, studies have found that red hair and red pigments, or melanins, in skin are linked to higher rates of cancer.

“Given that all higher vertebrates, including humans, share the same types of melanins in skin, hair and plumage, these results increase our scant current knowledge on the physiological consequences of pigmentation,” said lead researcher Ismael Galvan.