Now that the warm weather is rolling in, people are rolling up their sleeves and basking in the sun in an attempt to get a start on their summer tan. Unfortunately, a tan (as good as it may look) means your skin has been damaged. The effects may not be evident now but skin damage leads to those lovely brown patches called melasma, wrinkles, skin cancer and cellulite (I am still wondering if airbrushing was created to cover-up cellulite).
For those who don’t want to slather on sunscreen (though you should, preferably with zinc oxide or mexoryl in it) start drinking your green tea and eating berries by the bucket load. Recent research indicates that ellagic acid, an antioxidant found in many fruits and vegetables, most notably raspberries, pomegranates and cranberries, may protect the skin from sun damage, wrinkles and photo-aging. The catch? This study was done with topical ellagic acid. So unless you want to rub berries on your butt to prevent that cottage-cheese like appearance, the next best thing may be a good quality sunscreen with ellagic acid in it or the combination of eating those summertime berries and still using that good quality sunscreen. Remember, consuming berries means you get a load of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory that can benefit your skin from the inside out.