Protect your skin from the sun with Carotenoids

With summer around the corner, I am always looking for the best way to protect my skin while getting a little bit of tan. I try my best to get a couple of shades darker while preventing serious skin damage, sun spots and, of course, wrinkles!

Aside from wearing a face lotion that contains SPF all year round, with a minimum of 20 SPF in the winter and 30 SPF  in the summer when I am casually strolling in town (not at the beach where I go for a much higher SPF), I also take supplements to protect my skin from harmful sun rays as well as prepare it for the summer. 

Although in my diet I already incorporate many foods rich in carotenoids, powerful skin-friendly antioxidants, commonly found in sweet potatoes and tomatoes, to mention just two of the top sources, as spring comes around and I spend more time outdoors, I also get extra help by taking supplements. I switch around between those that contain mostly beta carotene and those that mostly have lycopene, both very effective carotenoids against cellular degeneration. 

Pink grapefruit, tomatoes and carrots are foods rich in carotenoids.

What’s the difference between beta carotene and lycopene?

Lycopene is a plant nutrient containing a pigment that confers to some fruits and vegetables a red or pink color. Tomatoes, and tomato products, especially sun dried tomatoes, have by far the highest concentration of lycopene, followed by pink grapefruit and pink guava (they have to be pink!), but also watermelon, papayas and a many others.

Lycopene is considered the most powerful antioxidant, as not only it helps prevent cancer, heart diseases and other serious illnesses, but it’s also an invaluable friend against skin aging as it fights off free radicals. However, studies have shown that with age the amount of lycopene in the outermost layer of the skin decreases. In a separate study, when participants were given up to 16 mg of lycopene daily for 4 consecutive weeks they showed significantly less - 40 to 50% less - skin damage caused by UV rays. 

Beta carotene is also a plant based nutrient, but it has a red-orange pigment, and can be found mostly in carrots, apricots, baked sweet potatoes, bell peppers to name a few. It is also a powerful antioxidant although slightly less than lycopene, but unlike lycopene, is a provitamin A carotenoid, meaning it metabolizes into Vitamin A, a known anti-aging compound that works by stimulating cellular turnover. 

Because most fruits and vegetables rich in carotenoids are widely available all-year round it is easy to incorporate these skin friendly nutrients into our daily diet, still if you want an extra kick you can also look into supplements. If you prefer to eat your carotenoids here are a few recipes to get you started.

Carotenoids are very effective in protecting against harmful sun rays.

If you have to pick one over the other, both lycopene and beta carotene supplements can be both very powerful allies against photooxidative damage (sun induced oxidation) , with lycopene being stronger in protecting against sun-induced oxidation and beta carotene being able to metabolize into vitamin A, which in turns helps the skin regenerate faster.

Whichever one you choose (perhaps you can alternate between the two like I do), don't forget to wear sunscreen all year-round and, at least in the summer, a hat before you venture out.

When it’s winter it is important not to lower the guard and keep the skin protected, especially if you go skiing, as the refraction of the sun against the snow make the rays even more powerful.

Lastly, whether is summer or winter, always keep hydrated and, why not, add Cure organic electrolytes to your water.

Try it and let know what you think!