Anti-aging diets
Carotenoids: Recent scientific studies have found that what you eat can help protect your skin from sunburn, wrinkles and cancer. Researchers found that fair-skinned folks who got a lot of carotenoids either from supplements or foods have less severe sunburns. Carotenoids are the antioxidants in orange food like carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe and pumpkin. Carotenoids in the skin seem to absorb some of the harmful UV rays.
Lycopene: Another study showed that you get the same benefits from the antioxidant lycopene, found in tomatoes, tomato sauce and red peppers. People who ate four ounces of tomato paste every day for two and a half months reduced the sun’s ability to redden their skin by 35 percent. This sun protection would be equivalent to about a 3 SPF.
Phytochemicals: Yet another study showed that a group of older people who ate the most fruits and vegetables had les wrinkling than those who didn’t. The phytochemicals in prunes, vegetables, olive oil, beans, apples and tea get most of the credit.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids: The good fats found in fish like salmon, trout and mackerel make these treasures of the sea an anti-aging wonder food.