Foods to Fight Sun Damage

With spring round the corner, you are perhaps getting ready for the sunny days ahead. Stocking up on sunscreens is defiantly unavoidable to prevent sun damage; however your external sun protection may not be enough. You need to think about natural ways to build an internal sun defense system, which lets you have as much fun, in the sun, as you desire, without worrying about the damage, the sun’s rays may cause to your skin. There are several antioxidants found in some foods which are known to fight against sun damage. And here’s how you can get some internal sun protection, with foods.

Polyphenols

Green tea is rich in Polyphenols, a type of antioxidant, which helps in reducing the impact of UV radiation damage. There are even creams and lotions containing green tea extract, but the best way to get the sun protection benefits of green tea is to drink two or three cups of green tea every day. And for summers, you can always switch over to the iced version, instead of the regular hot tea.

Omega 3 fatty acids

Most of you may know of omega 3 as heart healthy fatty acids, but these are also vital to your skin health. EPA, which is a sub type of omega 3 fatty acid, keeps you safer in the sun by slowing down the burning of the skin by the sun rays. These fatty acids are also believed to prevent skin cancer. So, now you have more than one reason to feast on salmon, sardines and flax seed, all of which are rich sources of omega 3 fatty acids.

Lycopene

This magical nutrient can be found in most of the deep red vegetables and fruits like, tomatoes, red bell peppers and watermelon. Lycopene fights free radical damage and UV radiation damage.

Vitamin C

Get going with berries, oranges, peaches and guavas this spring, to prevent dark spots from sun damage. Also, vitamin C has a good anti-inflammatory effect which will keep most of the skin inflammation problems at bay.