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Top 10 Foods You Can Eat for a Perfect Tan
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The summer sun is just too nice to avoid. Even though we are aware that the sun can damage our skin, we still do everything we can to get a beautiful tan. We wear sunscreen and stay out in the sun as long as possible, go to tanning booths, we even use fake spray tans to make our skin look sun kissed.
But did you know that certain foods can actually help promote tanning? It’s true. Some foods encourage our skin to make the most of our time in the sun, while still others cause our skin to reject the sun’s rays.
Enjoying the summer sun safely and still getting a beautiful tan depends a lot on knowing what to eat and drink to make the most of it. Check out our list of the top 10 foods that will help promote your beautiful summer tan and the 5 you should avoid.
1. Carrots
More than likely you have already heard about the many benefits to your skin from eating carrots but did you know that many tanning products use the alpha – carotene from carrots to promote the coloration of the skin?
When they are eaten raw, carrots keep all their beneficial skin properties.
Find ways to add raw, organic carrots to your meals and watch the color in your skin really blossom.
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2. Eggs
Eating whole, organic eggs, especially the yolks, can encourage your skin to tan.
Egg yolks are high in vitamin A, an important vitamin for your skin and its ability to tan, as well as having regenerative effects.
Read also why eggs are considered a healthy snack.
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3. Mangos
Mangos contain simply tons of vitamin A, more than any other fruit!
In case you haven’t noticed, vitamin A is on the top of our tanning list.
Find out 12 tips how to pump up your metabolism.
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4. Water
Ok, although water doesn’t contain vitamin A, it’s still important to your skin.
Our bodies are about 60 per cent water so in order for it to function properly, including the skins ability to tan instead of burn, depends on keeping your body super hydrated. If you become dehydrated when you are out in the sun, your skin dries out and becomes damaged instead of getting that summer glow that you want.
So be sure to drink plenty of fresh water when you are outside, at least every 20 minutes if you are in the sun.
Or eat plenty of fruit with high water content such as watermelon or cucumbers.
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5. Cheese
Cheese has high levels of selenium, which not only can help protect your from sunburn, but it helps you tan better as well as slowing the overall aging of your skin by acting against the free radicals in your body.
Although all cheese is good, white cheese is exceptionally high in selenium.
Cheese is a perfect source of clean protein.
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6. Spinach
Although you may not think of spinach as good for anything but your heart, it’s also great for promoting your tan.
Much the same as carrots, spinach is packed with those antioxidants and beta-carotene that not only keep your eyesight sharp, they also help your skin look its golden brown best.
So enjoy that spinach salad before you head out to the beach.
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7. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are another great food to promote your tan.
Tomatoes contain lycopene, a similar compound to the ones found in carrots and spinach, which are stored in the fat that lies just beneath the skin and they help add that golden glow and actually mimic a beautiful tan.
They also kill those nasty little free radicals that cause wrinkles.
Add some tomatoes to that spinach salad and relish the radiance of your skin.
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8. Apricots
Another great fruit that can contribute to your tan.
Apricots also are rich in carotenoids, which is a natural pigment that gives them their beautiful yellowish brown color.
These can transfer the color to your skin and give it a rich, tan color.
Apricots also have those great antioxidant powers.
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9. Olive Oil
Now olive oil may not contribute to that golden brown color you are looking for, but what it will do is to keep that color and the condition of your skin looking its very best.
No one wants skin that looks dried out and wrinkled, like an old saddle.
Your skin needs healthy oils to keep it soft and supple.
Don’t add olive oil to the outside of the skin, but hydrate it from the inside by using olive oil in your cooking.
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10. Peaches and Plums
Both of these fruits are high in vitamin A as well as having those carotenoids that transfer the color of the fruit to the fat that lives beneath your skin.
These two popular fruits also have those free radical killing antioxidants that can help you avoid wrinkles and sun damage.
Now eating the foods listed above won’t give you a deep, dark tan in a week; nor can you expect that healthy glow from eating one spinach salad every week.
You need at least 5 servings per day for at least 2 months for the effects to show through your skin, but aren’t eating healthy in order to get a tan a big improvement over frying and damaging your skin by the pool?
You might even lose a few pounds from filling up on these veggies instead of junk foods.
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