Edible Sunscreen ! Foods That May Protect You From Sunburn & Skin Cancer
Sunscreen is not just to prevent sunburn. More importantly, it protects against skin cancer which is one of the common types of cancer these days. It only takes one severe sunburn to potentially double your child’s chances of getting melanoma later in life. My kids hated sunscreen when they were little. Now as they are older they understand and though they do grumble, they slather it on. What if you could eat your sunscreen. Believe it or not – you can !! Certain foods have a strong sun- protective factor and when eaten on a regular basis can be as effective as physical sunscreen. Using sunscreen and eating these foods will provide you double insurance against sunburn 🙂 I experimented this summer and ate these foods as often as I could. It worked! Although I have been out in the sun a lot without protection and even went to the beach the last weekend, I did not get as sunburned as I would normally do. It’s all healthy food, so take a shot at eating more of these foods ! You can eat any one of the foods everyday or almost everyday to get sun protection.
Load up on these food ! They have serious SPF !!!
Click on these foods to view a slide show!
Olive oil : 2 tbsp/ day to get the sunscreen effect. Drizzle over salads and bread. Use in dips, cooking, sauteing, stir fry etc.
Tomato : high in lycopene a colorful carotenoid which is responsible for sun protection. You can get the amount of lycopene needed by consuming 4 tsps tomato paste, 1/2 cup pasta sauce or 4 tomatoes.
Watermelon : packed with lycopene that might lower your sunburn risk. In order to get the benefit of you will have to drink one watermelon smoothie or eat 2 cups of watermelon/Day !
Grapefruit : also packed with lycopene and vitamin C. Eat 2 pink grapefruit to get the sun protection benefit !
Vitamin E : supplemental vitamin E has sun protection benefits ! 400 IU / day is the required amount.
Pomegranatee : said to strengthen the skin and protect it from burning. 4 oz of juice or one pomegranate fruit.
Green and black tea : antioxidants in tea are protective against skin cancer and prevent the skin from burning up. 2-3 cups /day.
Keeping you and your kids safe in the sun is simple and can be fun !! Load up on these healthy foods for extra sun protection !!
13 thoughts on “Edible Sunscreen ! Foods That May Protect You From Sunburn & Skin Cancer”
I eat almost all those foods, so plus! But me and my kids are so fair, I cannot go sunscreen-less. I grew up having a pool as a child. We never wore sunscreen unless we were sunburned already. I think my skin is so damaged from that and now super sensitive to the sun. Since my kids are weird and don’t like watermelon, I know, weird, and I can’t eat the whole thing, I blend down the extra watermelon and freeze it in ice cube trays. I have a huge bag of them in my freezer that I pop into smoothies or adult beverages, lol.
ooh love the idea of freezing watermelon cubes. Am going to try that. Will look pretty and great way to use the melon too ! Get such great ideas from you 🙂 Am actually going to play with that Greek yogurt recipe for Alfredo sauce & come up with a revamped version 🙂 Thanks for visiting !
Love the pictures. makes me visualize and remember the foods. I hate sun screen myself and use it sparingly because I break out ! Will eat these foods. Thanks for the list !
Thanks for stopping by ! I used to break out too with sunscreen, then I started using the lighter brands .. Neutrogena etc which seemed to do better on my skin. The foods are good though !
Great list and good post ! Wearing sunscreen is not so much a guy thing and I learnt the hard way after scuba diving trip this year ! Got burnt although I spent most time underwater lol ! Will eat these foods in large quantities before my next trip I think ! Thanks for sharing ! Love the pics !!
That must have been a fun trip Steve. Always wanted to try that sport !! Unless your’e wearing waterproof sunscreen, can imagine you would get quite sun burnt 🙂 All delish foods, so eat up !!!
To treat skin problems, most people turn to mainstream topical cosmetics, including lotions, soaps, scrubs, toners, and creams. However, treating outer blemishes with expensive, chemical-laden beauty products does little to address the root cause of the problem: poor nutrition and exposure to toxins in dietary and personal care products
Hi there! I’m Sunithi, AKA Sue, a registered dietitian with a sweet tooth and a passion for eating healthy (quite a combo) currently working as an independent consultant in the DC Metro area. I’m also a blogger, health nut, nutrition geek who jogs to keep sane :)! I love to revamp recipes and add some ‘Nutrition Bytes’ to them. All my recipes are gluten free! I also blog on natural health and fitness! Visit often and drop me a note if you have any nutrition queries!
Hi there! I’m Sunithi, AKA Sue, a registered dietitian with a sweet tooth and a passion for eating healthy (quite a combo) currently working as an independent consultant in the DC Metro area. I’m also a blogger, health nut, nutrition geek who jogs to keep sane :)! I love to revamp recipes and add some ‘Nutrition Bytes’ to them. All my recipes are gluten free! I also blog on natural health and fitness! Visit often and drop me a note if you have any nutrition queries!
I eat almost all those foods, so plus! But me and my kids are so fair, I cannot go sunscreen-less. I grew up having a pool as a child. We never wore sunscreen unless we were sunburned already. I think my skin is so damaged from that and now super sensitive to the sun. Since my kids are weird and don’t like watermelon, I know, weird, and I can’t eat the whole thing, I blend down the extra watermelon and freeze it in ice cube trays. I have a huge bag of them in my freezer that I pop into smoothies or adult beverages, lol.
ooh love the idea of freezing watermelon cubes. Am going to try that. Will look pretty and great way to use the melon too ! Get such great ideas from you 🙂 Am actually going to play with that Greek yogurt recipe for Alfredo sauce & come up with a revamped version 🙂 Thanks for visiting !
I need to be eating these every day! I burn so easy, it’s crazy!
It really worked for me when I tried it this year Angie ! halfway through the summer and girl am less sun burnt than I usually am. Try it !!
Love the pictures. makes me visualize and remember the foods. I hate sun screen myself and use it sparingly because I break out ! Will eat these foods. Thanks for the list !
Thanks for stopping by ! I used to break out too with sunscreen, then I started using the lighter brands .. Neutrogena etc which seemed to do better on my skin. The foods are good though !
Great list and good post ! Wearing sunscreen is not so much a guy thing and I learnt the hard way after scuba diving trip this year ! Got burnt although I spent most time underwater lol ! Will eat these foods in large quantities before my next trip I think ! Thanks for sharing ! Love the pics !!
That must have been a fun trip Steve. Always wanted to try that sport !! Unless your’e wearing waterproof sunscreen, can imagine you would get quite sun burnt 🙂 All delish foods, so eat up !!!
Thanks Sue !!!! I needed this seriously ! making your watermelon smoothie today I think !! It sounds awesome 🙂
The watermelon smoothie is a favorite in our home !! Minty melon madness ! Glad you found the post useful 🙂
wow i love to eat this kind of food I enjoy not only love.
To treat skin problems, most people turn to mainstream topical cosmetics, including lotions, soaps, scrubs, toners, and creams. However, treating outer blemishes with expensive, chemical-laden beauty products does little to address the root cause of the problem: poor nutrition and exposure to toxins in dietary and personal care products
i definitely agree with this post..these fruits helps to protect ourselves from sun burn and cancer…
thanks for sharing this amazing post.. 🙂