August always makes me think about two things: sunshine and bugs. Plants feel it too. Late summer is when they're working hard to protect themselves from strong sun and hungry insects. And the coolest part is that the same compounds plants use to stay resilient in the summer heat can help your skin stay resilient too.

How plants protect themselves from the sun

Plants can't move into the shade or put on a hat. So they make their own protection.

Many fruits and vegetables produce carotenoids, the natural pigments behind their deep reds, oranges, and yellows. Let's break that word down: "carot" comes from carrot, one of the first places these pigments were found, and "-oid" means "like." So carotenoids are carrot-like pigments.

Carotenoids act like a built-in sunscreen for plants. They absorb extra light energy and help neutralize the damaging compounds that strong sunlight creates. Think of them like a beach umbrella that's built right into the leaf. They also help keep plants strong under stress, which matters because a stressed, sun-damaged plant is an easier target for hungry insects.

Where to find carotenoids

You'll find carotenoids in many of the colorful foods of late summer and fall:

1 - Lycopene: tomatoes, watermelon, and pink grapefruit

2 - Beta-carotene: carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, and pumpkin

3 - Lutein and zeaxanthin: spinach, kale, and other dark leafy greens (the green hides the orange pigment underneath)

These pigments are also antioxidants, which help protect your cells from everyday wear and tear. And here's a bonus for your eyes: lutein and zeaxanthin collect in the back of your eye, where they help filter harsh light and protect your vision as you age.

How carotenoids help your skin

Here's the part I love. When you eat carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables, those same protective pigments build up in your skin. In fact, researchers can measure carotenoid levels in your skin, and those levels rise when people eat more colorful produce.

What the research shows

Researchers at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany, tested this in a 10-week study. Fair-skinned adults who ate about 40 grams of tomato paste a day (roughly half a small can) with a little olive oil had about 35% less skin redness after UV light exposure than they did at the start. The group that had olive oil alone saw no change.

The lead researcher described the protection as modest, similar to a sunscreen with an SPF of about 2 to 3. Other studies of carotenoids have found similar small effects.

So this is not a replacement for sunscreen, of course. Keep wearing your sunscreen, hat, and sunglasses. But it's a nice, always-on layer of protection working from the inside out.

Give it a few weeks

Carotenoids don't work overnight. They build up in your skin slowly, which is why the Düsseldorf group saw the biggest difference at the end of the 10 weeks, not the beginning. Think of colorful produce as something you eat most days all year, so your skin is ready when the strong sun shows up.

Cooked tomatoes are a bonus

Cooking tomatoes helps release lycopene from the plant cells, and eating them with a little fat helps your body absorb it. That's why tomato sauce and tomato paste are such good sources. Your fat can come from whole foods, like a sprinkle of nuts or seeds or a few slices of avocado.

What about the bugs?

You may have heard that what you eat can make you less appealing to mosquitoes. It's a fun idea, but the science isn't there yet.

Mosquitoes find us mostly by the carbon dioxide we breathe out, our body heat, and natural chemicals on our skin, like lactic acid. Your genes, your skin bacteria, and how active you've been all play a role. Research on whether any particular diet changes that is limited and mixed, and no food has been shown to work as a mosquito repellent.

So enjoy your colorful produce for your skin and your health, and keep the bug spray handy for those August evenings on the porch.

Food first, not pills

You might wonder if you could just take a carotenoid supplement instead. The research points to whole foods. Fruits and vegetables come with a whole team of compounds that work together, while high-dose beta-carotene pills have actually raised lung cancer risk in smokers. I wrote more about why plants in a pill aren't the shortcut they seem.

Colorful produce also brings plenty of fiber, which helps your cholesterol, blood sugar, and weight, so your skin isn't the only thing that benefits.

Try this tonight: simmer a can of crushed tomatoes with a little garlic and a spoonful of tomato paste for 10 minutes. Stir in a handful of spinach and serve it over whole-grain pasta with a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds. You get lycopene, lutein, and fiber in one cozy bowl.

Your simple tip

So while summer might be sunny and buggy outside, your body has its own way of strengthening itself from the inside out. Every serving of colorful produce helps your skin handle sunlight a little better and supports long-term skin health.

Add one more deeply colored fruit or vegetable today. Which one will you pick? I'd love to hear!

Sources

1 - Journal of Nutrition, 2001: dietary tomato paste protects against UV-induced skin redness, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (Science News summary)

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