Eat your sunscreen. No, not the cream but foods that can protect your skin
Before getting into the details, let us inform you - you need to wear a sunscreen every day - yes, even on days when the sun is nowhere to be seen. A sunscreen not only prevents your skin from getting a tan, but reduces the chances of premature ageing. It also reduces pigmentation and gives you an even skin tone.
Generally, sunscreen is used topically. You will find the market flooded with a variety of sunscreens from SPF 12 to 100 or 150. Experts often recommend applying sunscreen with SPF more than 30.
But do you know you can eat your sunscreen? No! You don’t have to squeeze the bottle and eat what's in it. There are certain foods that can help prevent damage from the sun. So, adding these foods to your diet can double the protection.
So, if you want a glowing, radiant skin, you can add these natural sunscreens to your diet.
SKINCARE: ORAL SUNSCREEN, FOODS YOU SHOULD ADD TO YOUR DIET
1. ANTIOXIDANTS
In an Instagram post, celebrity nutritionist Pooja Makhija said, "The main purpose of sunscreen is to have a photoprotective action against photo-ageing as well as sunburn. Antioxidants when added to your diet work magically at the cellular and molecular levels." There are two antioxidants that you can add to your diet to protect your skin:
- Resveratrol, which is found in red wine as well as cacao
- Astaxanthin, found in trout, salmon and lobster
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2. CITRUS FRUITS
A few months ago, dermatologist Dr Geetika Gupta Mittal also shared a post on Instagram listing foods that can naturally protect your skin from sun damage. Citrus foods are on top of that list. Citrus foods; good sources of Vitamin C include lemon, grapefruit and orange.
Since the orange season is here, eat enough of those to up your Vitamin C intake as well as to protect your skin.
3. TOMATOES
Thankfully, tomatoes are (finally) affordable. You can add a lot of these to your diet without any hesitation. According to Dr Geetika, “Tomatoes are high in lycopene, which absorbs both UVA and UVB radiation.”
4. GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES
The bitter truth is here. You need to eat those veggies not just for better health, but for the sake of your skin too. The dermatologist explained that green leafy vegetables are rich in beta-carotene, which is converted into Vitamin A by the body and offers natural sun protection.
5. GREEN TEA
Well, now we know sipping green tea cannot help in weight loss (at least, not if you're loading up on the rest of the unhealthy foods and hoping green tea will just, miraculously, cross it all out). Green tea, however, can help you safeguard your skin from the sun. Green tea contains polyphenol, an antioxidant that can help prevent sun damage.
So, before you apply those layers of sunscreen, grab a plate and eat these healthy foods.