Healthy Habits: Summer Foods Great for Summer Skin

 With the weather warming up and summer nearly upon us, you’re likely spending more time outdoors, and with that comes the need to protect yourself from the sun.

In honor of National Sunscreen Day on May 28th, Jaya Jaya Myra, former immunologist turned mind-body wellness expert and bestselling author, wants to address a few important things about sunscreen.

“Not all sunscreen is created equal. The United States lags behind other countries in quality sunscreen products due to FDA limitations on ingredients in sunscreen, so consider ordering a product from abroad. When considering what sunscreen to use, there are concerns around using products that contain chemicals like oxybenzone, because those chemicals themselves may lead to cancer, which is what you’re trying to prevent by wearing sunscreen in the first place, right?” says Jaya Jaya Myra.

But wait, Jaya Jaya Myra says there is also a way to guard your skin from the sun’s damaging rays totally naturally… with food!

“Lycopene is a key nutrient to protect your skin: It absorbs both UVA and UVB radiation and can make the skin more photo-protective over time, just like topical sunscreen would. Tomatoes are well-known for their lycopene content, but watermelon has far more lycopene per serving, and its high water content makes it perfect for staying hydrated in the heat of summer,” says Jaya Jaya Myra.

Here’s Jaya Jaya Myra’s 4 sun-blocking foods to add to your summer diet:

Food #1: Watermelon
Its high lycopene content can make your skin more photo-protective over time, acting like topical sunscreen. Lycopene is also an antioxidant that helps prevent sun damage from occurring, helping ward off skin cancer.

Food #2: Tomatoes
Tomatoes also contain lycopene, although not as much as a serving of watermelon. They make for a lovely summer food served raw or cooked into salsa, pasta sauce and so much more... making them a versatile ingredient to add to many summer dishes.

Food #3: Carrots
Carrots contain beta-carotene which can make people less sensitive to the sun and less likely to burn.

Food #4: Green Tea
Green tea and matcha are super high in antioxidants which help protect you from sun damage and skin cancer. Green tea is also one of those teas that taste great hot or iced, making it great for a hot summer day. You can even have an iced matcha latte if you want to turbocharge your day with powerful antioxidants. There is also evidence that caffeine protects against sun damage, and green tea has a moderate amount of caffeine per serving.

Food #5: Guava Fruit
Guava is high in both lycopene and other antioxidants, which protect you from sun damage and act as a natural sunscreen. It may be harder for you to find guava though; so rely on other summer staples when necessary. If you can find guava, it makes for a great juice or frozen treat.

Eat up, and don’t forget your sunscreen!