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Protecting Your Skin From Within
By Dr. Narinder Saini M.D.
While sunscreen remains the best protection
for keeping your skin healthy, what you eat can
play a role too. Take a look below just what foods
will give you the best bang for your bask?
- Cantaloupe, watermelon, & mangos Cantaloupe,
watermelon, and mangos, as well as orange and
red vegetables (like carrots and red peppers)
and dark leafy greens such as spinach, may help
to reduce sunburn. These foods are rich in carotenoids,
such as beta carotene and lycopene helped to
decrease redness in skin, when the skin was
exposed to UV light. So, you may want to think
about eating "red" to avoid "red".
In theory, vitamin C rich fruits, such as oranges
are also beneficial for the skin, as C is an
antioxidant, and can help get rid of free radicals,
damaging chemicals formed from the sun's rays
that can lead to skin cancer.
- Green Tea Previous research has suggested
that drinking 4 or more cups of green tea each
day can help to prevent skin cancer).There are
several green iced teas on the market these
days.
- Selenium-rich foods: Brazil Nuts, Seafood,
Brown Rice. Selenium is a mineral that acts
as an antioxidant, and so it may help provide
protection against cancer, including skin cancer.
(Note: 1 large Brazil nut contains 140 micrograms
of selenium; well over the RDA of 55 micrograms)
- Raspberries: Raspberry extract has been shown
to inhibit enzymes involved in the growth of
skin tumors. Raspberries may also help to prevent
wrinkling of the skin, as its active ingredients
may help to keep collagen intact, this is the
protein that helps to maintain the structure
and integrity of skin (as well as other tissues
such as bones and teeth). The magic ingredient
in raspberries is thought to be a compound known
as ellagic acid.
- Soy: We already know about several health
benefits from eating soy foods, and protection
against skin cancer may be next. A recent study
from the University of California at Berkeley
revealed that soy protein prevents skin tumors
from developing in mice. Mice that had the soy
protein lunasin applied to their skin had significantly
lower rates of skin cancer than mice without
the lunasin treatment
So as you can see, the same healthy foods that we've
talked about in the past may help protect our skin
from the sun's damaging rays. Still, the best advice
that I can give you when you are outside in the
hot sun is "wear sunscreen"!
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