Eating for the sunny season: foods that help your skin

Sometimes when I learn about a food and how it can help the body, I think, “Wow, we have everything we need to live a healthy life! If only we’d eat this simply all the time.”

I remember after reading the book, “In Defense of Food,” thinking that the suggestions were nice but not realistic for our family: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants (and local as much as possible).” Eating real food was easy. But, mostly plants and local? That was the part that I had difficulty wrapping my head around saying “yes” to for our life. The more I’ve adjusted our lifestyle to suit or dietary changes, the more eating local or seasonally makes sense. While I’m not totally on the “eat local” train, I’m seeing the benefit more often than not. And, I find myself gobbling up information about foods, herbs and even weeds and how they provide our bodies with nutrition. I’m happy to share what I’m learning here, but don’t take my word over a Doctor’s. I’m simply an excited Homemaker!

Plants and weeds growing around us are sufficient to meet our nutritional needs usually when we need them. For example, Citrus fruits grow splendidly in sunny, hot areas and are chock full of Vitamin C which helps the body heal faster and even absorb Calcium, both are super helpful if you’re out in the sun all day playing or working hard. If you’re like me, living in Seattle, we don’t have a ton of sunny days, but finally get some in late Spring and Summer. Then, our berries and other fruits start to thrive.

So, what foods can help your body prevent or heal from sun burns? Okay, I’ll get to the good stuff already:

Sun Burn Prevention Foods

1)  Tomatoes

2) Watermelon

3) Grapefruit

4) Guava

5) Red Peppers

Basically, red fleshed fruits and veggies that contain Lycopene. This essential nutrient is related to Beta-Carotine because it actually helps your body synthesize {create} it. So, what does that have to do with Sun Burns? Well, we also need Lycopene to repair cellular damage. It helps the body to build up or heal damage to the cells.

As a bonus, the foods highest in Lycopene also have high water content: hydration bonus! So, how much will you need to consume  to actually help prevent burns? The experts say 1-3 servings a day for 10-12 weeks.

For me, that would mean eating Watermelon all Summer, just in time for Fall (when there is no sun); or, eating Tomato sauce all spring once a day! Which means, quite honestly, I won’t be eating Watermelon and Tomatoes to keep from getting sunburned while enjoying the Seattle Summers. Instead, I’ll be enjoying them and hoping that they help my body heal from the occasional sun burn, because I know how to prevent them with clothing and timing (not spending all morning in the P-Patch gardening, but waiting until the cooler early evening to do my weeding). Knowledge is power, right? And it’s especially fun to teach my kids why I make them eat their fruits and veggies! Watermelon has become our “sun burn” food.

What foods do you eat for Preventive Health? Got any success stories to share? I’m all ears;)

Note: Not all red or pink fleshed fruits and veggies have Lycopene. It is responsible for the reddish color in Watermelon, Tomatoes and a few others, but not in berries or Blood Oranges. Eating the rainbow is indeed super cool for other amazing nutrients.

p.s. Shared on Monday Mania‘s – real food and natural health link up.

Tagged as: Health, lycopene, Natural, Real Food, sun burns