The Best Natural Skin Protector

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I want to share with you this month a natural, effective way to protect your skin from the sun's dangerous ultraviolet (UV) rays. These rays can prematurely wrinkle our skin and cause cancer even when cloud cover is present. While it's always important to remember to wear sunscreen outside, our skin can still be damaged from prolonged sun exposure even after applying it and not becoming sunburned.

Fortunately, recent research indicates that we can protect our skin from within by eating enough of a particular common food. Not only can this food protect us from sun damage, but it also helps our skin stay young and elastic.

Remember that if you'd like to ask your own question, go to www.oakwaynaturals.com and click on “Ask-the-Doctor” under “Doctor's Corner” on the menu bar.

Yours in health,
Dr. Gregg Gittins

Research Spotlight: Lycopene and Skin Health

A study presented at the British Society for Investigative Dermatology by researchers from the Universities of Newcastle and Manchester found that supplementing your diet with lycopene-rich tomato paste can protect your skin from within and serve as a secondary defense against the harmful effects of the sun.

What Is Lycopene?

Lycopene is a bright red phytochemical found in tomatoes. It is also present in fruits such as watermelon, guava, papaya, apricots, pink grapefruit, and red oranges, but about 85 percent of dietary lycopene comes from tomatoes and tomato products. Lycopene acts as an antioxidant in the body, protecting cells from damage caused by free radicals.

Lycopene does more than give fruits and vegetables their bright color. It plays multiple roles in photosynthesis, helping plants manage energy from sunlight. Most important for humans is its ability to protect organisms from excessive light damage, which led researchers to explore its benefits for skin health.

How Lycopene Protects the Skin

Daily exposure to UV light causes cells to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which contribute to skin damage, premature wrinkles, and skin cancer. In the study, subjects were divided into two groups: one received lycopene with olive oil, and the other received olive oil alone. Skin samples showed that the lycopene group had 33 percent more protection from sunburn.

The tomato paste group also had higher levels of pro-collagen, which supports skin structure and elasticity, and less damage to mitochondrial DNA, a factor linked to skin aging. Lycopene supplementation should not replace sunscreen use but may serve as a helpful complement.

Dietary Sources and Supplementation

If you eat tomatoes regularly, you are likely getting enough lycopene to benefit your skin. If not, supplementation may help support skin health and reduce risks associated with conditions such as cancer and stroke, as reported in studies published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and Neurology.

Pure Encapsulations offers a Lycopene supplement for convenient daily use.

If you have questions about this topic or anything else, contact our customer service team at customerservice@oakwaynaturals.com or call 888‑460‑3091.

Until next time, stay healthy!

Yours in health,

Dr. Gregg Gittins

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A study presented at the British Society for Investigative Dermatology, found that supplementing your diet with lycopene-rich tomato paste can protect your skin from within and serve as a secondary defense against the harmful effects of the sun.

The reason UV light is harmful to the skin is because daily exposure to solar radiation causes cells to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are a primary factor in skin damage. Sun damage from UV exposure includes premature wrinkles and skin cancer. Lycopene seems to reduce production of ROS.

Lycopene is a bright red phytochemical found in tomatoes. Lycopene is actually present in a multitude of fruits, including watermelon, guava, papaya, apricots, pink grapefruits and red oranges, but 85 percent of our dietary intake of lycopene comes from tomatoes and tomato products.

Lycopene acts as an antioxidant in the body, protecting cells against damage from the free radicals formed when cells burn oxygen for energy.

To anyone who knows the biological functions of lycopene in nature, the claim that it can also protect us from the sun makes sense. Lycopene is what gives bright colors to the fruits and vegetables that contain it, but this is only part of what lycopene does.

Lycopene also plays multiple roles in photosynthesis, which is how plants convert energy from the sun into energy they can use for activities. Most important to us, though, is how lycopene protects organisms from excessive light damage. It is this light-protection function that spurred researchers to look into its human applications.

The tomato paste group also had higher skin levels of pro-collagen; the molecule which gives skin its structure and the loss of which leads to skin aging and lack of elasticity.

Additionally, there was less damage to mitochondrial DNA in the skin of the tomato paste group, which is also believed to be linked to skin aging. It should be noted that supplementing with lycopene is not an alternative or replacement for proper sunscreen use, but rather appears to be a good compliment to it.

If you like tomatoes and eat at least one of them most days, then you are likely getting enough lycopene from your diet to harness its skin-protecting, health-boosting benefits. If you do not like tomatoes or just don’t eat them very often, lycopene supplementation could help protect your skin and protect you from other health concerns like cancer and strokes, according to studies published in Journal of the National Cancer Institute and Neurology.

Pure Encapsulations makes a great Lycopene supplement that makes it as easy as possible to get the skin-protecting benefits of lycopene.

Have a great day!

We hope this slide show was helpful and informative. Should you have questions, or suggestions, please feel free to fill out our Ask the Doctor form found at the Doctors Corner.

Yours in health,

Dr. Gregg Gittins

www.oakwaynaturals.com



Rizwan M., MD, et al., Dermatological Sciences, University of Manchester and Dermatological Sciences, Newcastle University: Lycopene protects against biomarkers of photodamage in human skin 2008

Karppi, Jouni, PhD, et al., Neurology: Serum lycopene decreases the risk of stroke in men 2012

Giovannucci, Edward, MD, et al., Journal of the National Cancer Institute: A prospective study of tomato products, lycopene, and prostate cancer risk 2002