July 7, 2008 – When you consume tomatoes, in addition to their health benefits, you get mild protection against the sun and premature aging of the skin, according to the results of a British study.
This protective effect would be attributable to lycopene, an antioxidant contained in large quantities in tomatoes. However, you have to be an assiduous consumer of tomatoes to benefit from this natural protection.
The study authors asked ten randomly selected participants to take 55 g (5 tbsp) of a traditional tomato paste daily, combined with 10 g of olive oil. At the same time, ten other subjects were asked to take only olive oil. The experiment lasted 12 weeks.
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An SPF of 15, 30, 45â € ¦ |
To assess the protective effects on the skin, participants were exposed to a UV lamp at the start and end of the study. According to the results, people who consumed tomato paste obtained an additional 33% protection against sunburn.
According to the researchers, this protection would be equivalent to a sunscreen with an SPF index of 1.3. It is therefore not advisable to swap sunscreen for tomato paste … The concentration of lycopene would be maximum when the tomatoes are cooked, add the researchers.
German researchers had obtained similar results in a study carried out in 2005. It was tomato juice that had shown the most effective protection. Carrot juice and tomato paste also provided an interesting protective effect.2.
In addition, according to the results of the present study, consumers of tomato paste had a higher level of procollagen, a molecule used in the manufacture of collagen which gives the skin its structure. The deterioration of collagen fibers with age is one of the causes of skin aging and its loss of elasticity.
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Even more antioxidants thanks to seawater According to an Italian study3, cherry tomato plants watered with a mixture of fresh water and seawater would produce fruits with more antioxidants and vitamins. When ripe, cherry tomatoes contained more vitamins C and E, lipoic acid and chlorogenic acid – all antioxidants – compared to those that had not been doused with salt water. This increase would be due to the natural reaction of the tomato to counter the oxidative stress caused by the salinity of the water. Seawater, however, had no effect on the growth of seedlings and cherry tomatoes. |
Claudia Morissette – HealthPassport.net
1 Rizwan, M. et al. Lycopene protects against biomarkers of photodamage in human skin. Results presented at the annual meeting of the British Society for Investigative Dermatology in April 2008.
2. On this subject, see our news: Lycopene would protect against the sun.
3. Sgherri C, Kadlecova Z et al. Irrigation with diluted seawater improves the nutritional value of cherry tomatoes, J Agric Food Chem. 2008 May 14; 56 (9): 3391-7.
