If you have fair skin like myself or if you are aware of long term effects of too much sunlight, this it the time to prepare with skin friendly food for summer.
Humans invented iPads and smartphones, but still have to cope with the environment, thing that plants are really smart at. In fact, did you know that orange trees imported by the Arabs in Sicily and planted by the vulcano went from orange to red due to the production of a darker carotenoid? the beautiful and delicious sanguinello oranges are the result of environmental adaption to increase sunlight protection. Fancy that!
The human body does not have the same ability as the orange trees, because the human body can not produce carotenoids, the key nutrients that oranges and many other plants use to manage sun exposure and sun protection. However the human body has evolved in nature and therefore it is geared to take from it what it needs. In fact the human body contains several carotenoids derived from our diet. The carotenoids enter the blood stream and get distributed in different areas including the skin. Quite a journey, and rather amazing to think that these plant molecules are in our skin and all over our body, from the eyes to the brain and even breast tissue.
Once in the skin carotenoids help the skin in many ways:
-they act as antioxidant contributing to prevent photo ageing and age spots
-they protect the superficial skin lipids keeping the skin hydrated during sun exposure
Foods that are rich in carotenoids are:
-tomatoes
-carrots
-oranges
Carotenoids have also a synergy with vitamin C, so you can boost their positive effects with Vitamin C rich food such as strawberries.
I hope this information inspires to get the fresh salad flow going.. Please feel free to share your favourite recipe of fresh fruit salad or vegetable salad for a skin ready for the summer
