Right this moment summer’s bounty is on display at every road stand,
at every farmer’s market, it’s even spilling over in your neighborhood
grocery store aisle. It’s easy to eat healthy when the pickings are so
plentiful. Here’s just some of the produce you should be filling your
basket up with now for glowing, vibrant, and yes, younger-looking skin!
Berry Good
Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries – what’s not to
like? Your skin likes them too because of their high antioxidant
content. Free radicals – like the kind formed from sun exposure –
damage the membrane of skin cells, potentially allowing damage to the
DNA of that cell. The powerful antioxidants and other phytochemicals
in these fruits protect the cell so there’s less chance of damage
occurring. When you lessen the impact of free radicals on your
skin …. you guessed it – your skin is bound to stay younger looking
longer.
You Say Tomato
Load up your salad with chunks of tomato or simply slice one and
sprinkle with a little pepper and salt to eat plain. Whatever you do
with the season’s abundance of this fruit – yes, it’s classified as a
fruit – know it’s helping protect your skin due to its robust
ingredient, lycopene, which helps with collagen production. Lycopene
also, amazingly, acts as sunscreen from within but don’t think for a
minute you can skip applying your usual broad spectrum protection with
an SPF of at least 15! Whatever extra sun protection lycopene bestows,
consider it a little bonus against harmful UV rays.
Cool as a Cucumber
Another wonderful item to toss in a salad….. Did you know cucumbers
have most of the vitamins a body needs in a day? Essentials like
vitamin C, vitamin A, not to mention plenty of vitamin K and
pantothenic acid or vitamin B-5 which is another compound found in
cucumbers that helps your skin retain moisture. Cucumbers are 95
percent water, after all, which is great for keeping your skin
hydrated and helping to eliminate toxins at the same time. Have more
of these cylindrical fruits on hand than you can possibly eat? (Yes,
it’s another fruit and actually a member of the melon family). Place a
couple of slices over your eyes and its anti-flammatory properties
will help reduce puffiness.
The Refreshing Properties of Watermelon
Here’s another fruit that’s about 95 percent water and and also a
terrific source of lycopene, the antioxidant that’s so helpful in
defusing free radicals that could potentially damage your skin. It’s
rich with electrolytes and vitamins like C and B6 too, making it one
power-packed fruit. Be sure to tote one along on your next summer
picnic.
It’s easy to indulge in these summer fun-time fruits. Nourish yourself
and your skin too!