29 Jul Eat Your SPF: Pack Your Beach Bag with Food that Prevents Sunburn
Who know you could eat your SPF? While eating food that prevents sunburn can not entirely replace sunscreen, they serve as helpful reinforcement against sun damage. These high-nutrient options promote skin vibrancy, healing, and overall health.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are one of the most significant sources of lycopene, an antioxidant with proven long-term protection against damage from UV-radiation. This goes for plain tomatoes or tomato-based products; so if you’re eyeing that slice of pizza, we say go for it!
Carrots and Sweet Potatoes
Both of these foods contain high amounts of beta-carotene. Beta-carotene not only shields your skin from harmful sun rays, but it may also reverse existing damage. The high levels of antioxidants protect and repair skin cells from the effects of photoaging.
Dark Leafy Greens
As a helpful reminder, the darker color of the vegetable, the more nutrients you’ll be consuming. Dark leafy greens contain valuable antioxidants that heal the body by reversing free-radical damage.
Watermelon
Like tomatoes, watermelon is high in lycopene and another food that prevents sunburn. Ironically, eating these red foods will prevent you from going red after hanging out in the sun.
Kiwi
Kiwi, the king of vitamin C, has more than any other fruit. Exposure to sunlight damages cells, which your body responds to by producing cancer-causing free radicals. However, Vitamin C does wonders in blocking the development of cancer cells by killing off the free radicals in your body.
Sunflower Seeds
With the word right in the name, these little seeds are your friend when it comes to the sun. Sunflower seeds are full of vitamin E, another helpful antioxidant that combats sun damage. Vitamin E has also shown to slow down the signs of aging and reduce the appearance of scars.
Apples
Specifically the red skin on apples help keep skin cancer away. The skin contains triterpenoids, which are chemical compounds shown to block, and even kill, cancer cells.
Dark Chocolate
While there’s a time and place for rich milk chocolate, right now we’re talking about that delicious dark stuff, with 65% or more raw cacao. Dark chocolate is chock-full of flavonoids, an important antioxidant that can help protect the body from harmful sun damage.