Twenty percent of Americans have or will develop some kind of skin cancer. Sun exposure is the major cause of skin cancer — but does playing safe and staying out of the sun mean you can’t ever have that sexy bronze tan? Nope! All you need to do is eat these veggies and that bronze tan will naturally be yours.
The secret is in the carotenoids. Carotenoids are antioxidants which protect your cells from oxidative damage. According to the National Institutes of Health, carotenoids decrease your risk for many diseases, including cancer and opthalmologic diseases. The magic happens when you eat enough of these miraculous compounds, which get stored in the fat close to your skin’s surface — giving your skin a healthy bronze glow.
In fact, studies involving university students supplementing their daily diets with extra servings of beta-carotene-rich foods experienced increased skin pigmentation (tanning) after a few months. These are some of the foods that do the trick:
Carrots, Tomatoes, Cantaloupe, and Sweet Potatoes. Sweet potatoes, cantaloupes, and carrots are rich in carotenes.
Spinach and Kale. Dark leafy greens like kale and spinach are rich in beta-carotene.
Salmon or Astaxanthin Supplement. The carotenoid astaxanthin is responsible for salmon’s pink color. It’s such a strong carotenoid that it provides more UV protection than vitamins C, E and CoQ10. Consuming a concentrated astaxanthin supplement will quicken your skin’s bronzing, over time, and protect you from the sun’s UV rays – like a natural sunscreen.
Of course, unlike spray tanning or a day at the beach, this healthy, safe tanning method won’t deliver results overnight. But you can have your sexy, bronze tan without the risk of developing skin cancer just by eating carotenoid-rich foods.
