Natural Sunscreen in Foods

Natural Sunscreen - clarita

According to research, eating certain types of foods can act like natural sunscreen to help the body protect itself against harmful rays from the sun.

Even though most people reach for the bottle of sunscreen to protect themselves from the harmful rays of the sun, there are other ways to protect skin. Some research concludes that eating certain foods helps the body create natural sunscreen to give people extra protection from the sun.

Natural Sunscreen in Colorful Fruits and Vegetables

Plants like humans can suffer from too much exposure to the sun. According to Catherine Guthrie in the article "Eat Your Sunscreen" in Natural Health, plants use color as natural sunscreen. The more color a plant has, the more protection it has from the ultraviolet rays from the sun. The ingredient that helps plants get color is lycopene, a type of carotenoid, found in pink and red fruits. Guthrie states that tomatoes are also high in lycopene, and cooked tomatoes contain even higher amounts of lycopene because cooking tomatoes helps them release more lycopene.

Besides fighting off cancer, green leafy vegetables like broccoli and spinach may also protect the skin. According to Guthrie, a breakthrough study done in Australia over 11 years revealed the mixture of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins in green vegetables could lower the risk of skin cancer by more than 50 percent.

Natural Sunscreen in Dark Chocolate and Green Tea

Antioxidants, also called flavonoids, in dark chocolate may help protect skin from the sun. Guthrie states that a study published in 2006 in the Journal of Nutrition revealed that people who drank hot chocolate with 329 mg of total-cocoa flavanols (a type of flavonoids) increased the ability of their skin to fight off harmful rays from the sun. It is important to note that milk chocolate and drinking hot chocolate with milk prevents absorption of polyphernols, which will not help skin protect itself from the sun.

Besides dark chocolate, green and black tea also help protect skin from the sun. Guthrie writes that a 2007 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology revealed that people who drank two or more cups of either black or green tea every day had a 30 percent less likely chance to have squamous cell carcinoma than people who did not drink tea.

All Natural Sunscreen

People who eat foods like grapefruits, peaches, broccoli, spinach, dark chocolate, and tomatoes and who drink green and black tea can help their bodies produce all natural sunscreen.

Besides dark chocolate, green and black tea also help protect skin from the sun. Guthrie writes that a 2007 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology revealed that people who drank two or more cups of either black or green tea every day had a 30 percent less likely chance to have squamous cell carcinoma than people who did not drink tea.