Forum - Tomatoes Found to Protect Against Sunburn

Many gardeners use sunscreen while outdoors to shield their skin from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. According to new research, eating tomatoes may also have a sun-protecting effect.

Researchers at the Universities of Newcastle and Manchester in England gave one-half of their study group 5 tablespoons of standard tomato paste with 10 grams of olive oil every day. The control group received just the olive oil. They exposed the groups to UV light at the beginning and end of the trial. After three months the researchers found the tomato paste group had 33 percent more protection against sunburn and significant improvements in their skin’s ability to protect itself against UV light when compared to the control group. The tomato paste boosted the procollagen levels in the group. Procollagen is a known antiaging factor in skin. Also, the lycopene (a known antioxidant) in tomatoes helped protect the cell’s mitochondria that, in turn, positively affected skin health.

Though I'm not fond of tomatoes...

...tomatoes have been cited as having salmonella...

Not all tomatoes hae been implicated in the salmonella outbreak. For example, cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, as well as tomatoes grown at home are not linked to the outbreak and can be safely eaten. Of course, one should always rinse fresh produce before consuming it.

Here is a link to a fairly exhaustive report from the FDA on the subject:

http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html

I love vine ripe tomatoes. Those seem to taste the best. Both you and lonelitude are right about the vine ripe tomatoes too. I also always rinse off all fresh produce before eating it; it's much safer too.