So What Can You Do?

Sunscreen is clearly one way to protect the skin, but taking a holistic approach and including diet and supplements in your sun-care routine is a best bet to protect your skin all summer long.

A Survey Of 100 Nutrition Professionals

In order to find out what types of dietary changes can be made to help naturally protect the skin from the hot summer sun, Natural Grocers sent surveys to more than 100 nutrition professionals to find out their recommendations. Here’s what they had to say: The top recommendation—with 74% of responders suggesting this dietary approach—was to consume more carotenoids, a group of colorful phytonutrients. From a scientific perspective, these recommendations make a lot of sense, as these powerful compounds are preferentially taken up and concentrated in the skin and act similar to a natural sunscreen. In fact, many people are familiar with the common example of carotenoids finding their way to the skin—after eating too many carrots some people report their skin taking on a slightly orange glow. This is actually the result of beta-carotene, an orange-colored carotenoid, accumulating in the skin.

Specific carotenoids to consider in your natural sun-care routine include: lutein (it makes marigolds yellow), astaxanthin (it makes salmon pink), lycopene (it makes tomatoes red), and a few other less familiar family members such as beta-cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin. Even better, these compounds protect the skin from the sun without blocking the skin’s natural ability to make vitamin D upon exposure to sunlight![fn value=1][/fn]

These Specific Nutrients Ranked The Highest Among Professionals

Astaxanthin was the number-one-recommended nutrient by the surveyed nutrition professionals, with 53% recommending this pink-colored carotenoid. This is strongly supported by studies that have used astaxanthin supplements in participants and then examined the minimal erythemal dose (MED)—the amount of UV radiation a person can be exposed to without getting sunburned—before and after supplementation. Studies have shown that as little as two weeks of astaxanthin supplementation can increase the MED of study participants, though most studies use the supplements for about eight weeks.[fn value=2][/fn]  [fn value=3][/fn]

Other nutrients that were highly ranked by nutrition professionals included: oligomeric proanthocyanidin complexes (OPCs), omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and vitamin C. Most of these nutrients are antioxidants or free radical scavengers that destroy the free radicals that are created when UV rays from the sun penetrate the skin. These free radicals can initiate an inflammatory response and damage structural components of the skin, such as collagen. While OPCs, vitamin E, and vitamin C can help quench free radicals immediately, consuming adequate omega-3 fatty acids (especially EPA & DHA) can help modulate the inflammatory response caused by any rogue free radicals.

Sunscreen Safety

If you’re going to be out in the sun for extended periods of time it is still important to use sunscreen, but as previously mentioned, because of their health and environmental implications, many people want to avoid using chemical suncreen. This has led to a significant uptick in demand for mineral-based natural sunscreens that provide a physical barrier (rather than a chemical barrier) against the sun and are also reef-friendly.[fn value=4][/fn] The downside to these mineral-based sunscreens? Some of them can leave you looking a little chalky because they stay on the surface of the skin, but the nutrition experts who answered our survey also gave a great recommendation for minimizing that chalky appearance: Mix the sunscreen with a moisturizing lotion or skin-friendly oil like olive oil or coconut oil to help smooth the appearance.

The skin is our largest organ and its special ability to take up and concentrate skin-protective nutrients is nothing short of amazing. This simple fact emphasizes how important consuming these compounds is for skin health. So with today being the longest day of the year, don’t be afraid to get outside and enjoy the sunshine—just make sure you’ve been consuming plenty of carotenoids, supplementing as needed, and are equipped with a safe and environmentally friendly sunscreen. Now go have some fun in the sun!