Summer will soon be here. And with longer days and more sunshine, it's the perfect time to soak up some much-needed vitamin D, the essential vitamin our skin produces when exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. However, while the sun brings many benefits, it's important to remember the potential downside of too much sun exposure: photo-aging.
Photo-aging is the cumulative negative effect on skin resulting from long-term exposure to sunlight, particularly UV light. Premature photo-aging not only leads to wrinkles and brown spots but also poses significant risk for skin cancer, the most common cancer in the United States. Every day, nearly 10,000 people are diagnosed with skin cancer, affecting individuals of all ages and skin tones. Fortunately, when detected early, skin cancer is highly treatable.
But before we get to that, as well as what you can put in your mouth to protect your skin, including Olivino Essential (it’s true!), let's cover some important information on skin cancer prevention.
Safeguarding Your Skin Against Cancer
Here are some essential tips from the American Academy of Dermatology [1] to help you prevent skin cancer, detect it early, and potentially save your life:
- Avoid indoor tanning beds.
- Protect your skin when outdoors by wearing protective clothing, such as long-sleeved shirts, pants, wide-brimmed hats, and sunglasses with UV protection.
- Apply a water-resistant, broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher to all exposed skin.
- Regularly perform skin self-exams and consult a board-certified dermatologist if you notice any spots on your skin that are growing, bleeding, or changing in any way.
Eating a Mediterranean Diet May Protect Your Skin
Is there anything else you can do to protect your skin from the harmful effects of the sun’s UV rays? YES: Eat a Mediterranean Diet! A recent study involving over 18,000 people [2] found that adherence to the Mediterranean Diet reduced Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) risk by almost 30%. Another study of nearly 100,000 French woman [3] found that eating a Mediterranean Diet reduced melanoma and BCC risk by 28% and 22%, respectively.
How can food components protect your skin against photoaging? Here are two ways:
- They act like natural sunscreen. When ingested, polyphenols and antioxidants accumulate in the skin, absorbing UVA and UVB rays.
- They have anti-inflammatory effects. When your skin is exposed to UV rays, the resulting redness and tenderness is a marker of inflammation. Antioxidants can reduce the damage caused by production of pro-inflammatory molecules released by the body's immune cells to trigger inflammation.
Can Olivino Really Benefit Skin?
YES again! Extracts from each of the three Key Fruits of the Mediterranean Diet® found in Olivino Essential have been shown in clinical trials to protect skin from photoaging. Some of the supporting research is discussed briefly below. Continue to check our website as we update our scientific database on the Science Behind Olivino. Let’s begin with tomatoes.
Tomatoes Are Sunscreen for The Skin!
Tomato paste, lycopene (the primary tomato antioxidant) and lycopene-rich products were shown to prevent skin photoaging in a comprehensive review of 21 studies involving 968 subjects [4]. The dose of lycopene ranged from 2.4 mg/day to 28.8 mg/day with an intervention period from 4 to 24 wks. Skin appearance, pigmentation, thickness, and density were significantly improved in participants who took tomato or lycopene supplements. They also experienced less redness in their skin after sun exposure. Click here to see additional clinical studies on tomatoes and skin health. Each Olivino Essential softgel contains 10 mg of lycopene.
Grapes Can Do That Too!
Consumption of table grapes has also been shown to protect against UV-induced photodamage in two clinical trials. In the first study [5] 19 volunteers were given 25 grams of freeze-dried California table grape powder (equivalent to about 60-80 grapes) for 14 days and the minimal erythema dose (MED) determined before and after treatment. MED refers to the smallest amount of sunlight that triggers a sunburn and is used by researchers to determine how long someone can safely stay in the sun before burning. Grape consumption increased the MED by 74.8%, suggesting that subjects were more resistant to sunburn. A more recent study involving 29 subjects [6] found that consuming the equivalent of 3 servings of grapes per day (in powdered form), equivalent to 350-400 grapes, reduced sunburn risk in 31% of the participants. Each Olivino Essential softgel contains the equivalent of 300 grapes.
Olives are Sunscreen for the Skin Too - But Not all Olives are Alike…
There are hundreds of varieties of olive trees worldwide, each with their own unique characteristic flavor, oil content, size, and shape. The olive extract in Olivino Essential, OPEXTAN®, is derived from a very unique variety of olives, Coratina, primarily grown in the Puglia region of southern Italy. Further, OPEXTAN® is derived from the pulp (not leaf) of Coratina olives, which have a very unique polyphenolic profile. In addition to containing hydroxytyrosol, Coratina olives are very high in a compound called “verbascoside”, which has been shown to be the most potent antioxidant in olives [6]. Opextan® has been demonstrated in clinical trials to prevent photoaging. Each Olivino Essential softgel contains 160 mg OPEXTAN®.
Sunny days are here again. If you do nothing else for your skin, at the very minimum, apply sunscreen often. And for a little extra support from within, eat foods that have been clinically documented to provide internal sunscreen, including tomatoes, grapes, and olives. Beware of the high sodium in cured olives though. One serving (3) of Kalamata olives contains a whopping 440 mg of sodium! The American Heart Association recommends adults aim for no more than 2,300 mg of sodium/day.
Add Olivino Essential to your summer health routine! It’s sodium-free and contains clinically documented levels of three Key Fruits of the Mediterranean Diet® that may provide added skin protection!
To your skin’s good health!
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[1] May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month (aad.org)
[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32492135/
[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31380561/
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36606553/
[5] https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(21)00183-3/pdf