Can tomatoes protect your skin?

samcat_2

Just come across a really interesting theory that tomatoes can help boost skin defences. It should not be seen as a replacement for sun screen, but tomatoes will boost the skins defence against UV rays, and is somewhat anti-aging.

The BBC truth about food site has a film on it here.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/humanbody/truthaboutfood/flashapp/index.shtml?video=24

just click on 'launch' (next to pic of girl eating strawberry)

Ted_Hutchinson

How can my diet help protect me from sunburn?: answer

Lycopene—Potent Antioxidant Protection: article

You need to be aware that the lycopene is in the red natural colouring so the pale orange unripe flavourless tomatoes we get in our supermarkets are pretty crap. You'd do better with the tinned variety or tomato paste/puree as they are made from ripe redder varieties of tomatoes.

I covered this as well last year. Should we try to reduce sunscreen use?

There has been more research confirming the previous claims that Vitamin d, omega 3 and green tea all improve photo protection of skin from ageing.
In vivo relevance for photoprotection by the vitamin D rapid response pathway. and
These results are consistent with the proposal that the vitamin D system in skin may be part of an intrinsic protective mechanism against UV damage.
Photoprotective and anti-skin-aging effects of eicosapentaenoic acid in human skin in vivo
Photoprotective effects of green tea polyphenols.
As regulars will know I did all these and had plenty of tinned tomatoes/puree last year (lidls/nettos/aldis are all cheap) and didn't have any problems with skin burning right through July last year. But remember there is absolutely no need for everyone to be out in the sun all day every day. You can make sufficient vitamin d in a quater the time it takes your skin to burn so there is absolutely no reason for anyone to go pink or even start going pink. 10-20 mins 3 times a week( full body exposure horizontal) should be ample.