3 Superfoods That Can Prevent Sun Damage

The sun and heat are back and it is important that we focus a little extra on protecting our skin as we become more susceptible to UV rays. We know that sun protection factor is important to stop these rays, but did you know that it is also possible to increase your skin's tolerance to UV rays? In this short article, I will now discuss three different superfoods with this property and how they actually do it.

1. Tomato / Solanum Lycopersicum

Tomato is a fruit that is full of a very special antioxidant, lycopene, which is a type of carotenoid. In fact, tomato is one of the fruits in the world with the highest levels of lycopene. And lycopene is the most powerful antioxidant that has been measured in anything edible.

Because lycopene is so powerful, it has a proven effect in strengthening the skin to protect itself from harmful UV rays from the sun. When you eat tomatoes that contain lycopene, the micronutrient will be distributed to the skin that is exposed to light, which in turn will provide protection. In a study where volunteers ate tomatoes every day, it turned out after just 10 weeks that the skin of all the people had a reduction in sensitivity to UV rays. This means that lycopene in a daily diet can contribute to continuous protection against harmful UV radiation.

Lycopene in skincare involves drying and pulverizing tomatoes or fermenting tomatoes and then adding them to the skincare product. This way, you get lycopene directly to the skin, which has a slight protective effect against UV rays, but it also has a reversing effect on already sun-damaged skin.

Cherry tomatoes are the type of tomato that has the most lycopene, but guava, cooked tomatoes, watermelon, grapefruit, papaya, red peppers, asparagus, red cabbage and mango also have good values ​​of lycopene. Enjoy some sweet cherry tomatoes or watermelon this summer and strengthen your skin from within.

2. Buckthorn / Hippophae Rhamnoides

Sea buckthorn is, as the name suggests, a type of berry that grows on a bush that grows wild in Norway and Europe. One of the things that makes sea buckthorn a superfood against sun damage is its high content of some very special carotenoids (antioxidants). These carotenoids are the precursor to vitamin A, a type of bio-retinol. This means that when you apply a product that contains sea buckthorn, the skin will convert it into vitamin A. What is so great about this process is that the skin can utilize the vitamin in a natural and very effective way.

A sea buckthorn berry has 12 times more vitamin C than an orange, and it is also the only plant-based source that has absolutely all types of omega fatty acids in it. These factors give sea buckthorn a unique ability to prevent radiation from damaging the skin and body. In the Chernobyl accident, they actually used sea buckthorn oil to care for and heal burned and damaged skin after the nuclear accident.

Studies show that sea buckthorn oil has very promising protection against harmful UV rays from the sun because sea buckthorn oil enters and helps lipids and proteins in skin cells to absorb the sun's rays without the skin becoming sun damaged. A lot of research is being done on this now, because there is a growing need for natural sun protection that does not cause side effects.

You can also eat sea buckthorn berries, but it is not very good because they are bitter and sour in taste. The berries taste best in powder form (used in porridge, smoothies, etc.), as a dietary supplement or as pressed sea buckthorn juice. Use skin care products that contain sea buckthorn or eat sea buckthorn-based foods and your skin will be strengthened from the inside out!

3. Raspberry / Rubus Idaeus

Does raspberry oil really provide direct SPF sun protection? Many say so. The origin of this information was a study done in 2000 that showed that raspberry oil had a high natural sun protection. The information quickly spread on the internet among those who want natural SPF. Several studies have been done subsequently where no one has gotten the same results, quite the opposite. The latest study done in 2022, where they use newer technology to test SPF, showed that raspberry oil as well as other vegetable oils and essential oils have absolutely no natural SPF and the study advises against using raspberry oil as a natural sunscreen.

That said, it is interesting to note why the study 22 years ago believed that raspberry oil had SPF. Raspberry oil, due to its unique composition of several different active antioxidants, has the ability to increase antioxidant levels in human skin. Studies have shown that people with higher levels of antioxidants had fewer and less pronounced wrinkles and sun damage than those with low antioxidant levels. Although raspberry oil does not have direct sun protection, it does build up the antioxidant level in the skin, so that the skin is much better equipped to build up and strengthen the skin against sun damage. In fact, it is the best in its class at precisely this, which makes raspberries a superfood against sun damage.

Raspberry oil has also been shown to be superior at soothing wounds and sun-damaged skin and helps the skin heal faster. Eat raspberries and get all the good antioxidants into your body, it will strengthen both your health and make your skin more resistant to sun damage.

Written by Marina Elisabeth Engervik