Tanning Foods
Have you ever wondered if what you’re eating can affect your tan or your skin tone? Well it certainly can! In this blog Carrot Sun will give you all the advice you need to bring you up to speed on what foods can warm up your skin tone, enhance, and maximise the tanning process so that you can get a better, faster, and healthier tan!
Step 1: Warm up your skin tone
What you put into your body is just as important as what you put onto your body. Who would have thought it, but the more you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables that are yellow or orange in color this can warm up your skin tone. Eating things such as carrots, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, or cantaloupe daily can, over time, lead to a lightly golden tone.
How does this work?
Beta carotene, which is present in large amounts in brightly coloured yellow, red, and orange foods, and dark leafy greens (spinach or kale), is responsible for affecting skin pigmentation, or the colour of your skin (for a full list of beta-carotene-rich foods please see below).
How much should you eat?
Make these foods your 5-a-day! You don’t need to over-eat them, just eat what you feel is enough and always listen to your body. It is best to get these foods fresh in their natural form rather than in supplement or tablet form. Beta carotene supplements found in health food stores is something we cannot recommend for several reasons. First, you can’t be sure whether the dosage is right for you personally and you may end up turning orange if you’ve taken too much. And second, things such as beta carotene are absorbed and utilised more efficiently in your body when ingested in their natural state because there are other nutrients in these food items that all work together to maximise their absorption and their benefits within you.
So if you can, try to eat these foods fresh, blend them into a smoothie, throw them in a salad, make a lovely warm soup, or even put them in a cake (carrot cake!) and start warming up your skin tone!
Step 2: Feed your tan
Time to get a little more technical, even tanning has its technicalities!
Tyrosine is a very important amino acid for developing a tan, and this is because it is a building block of melanin and aids in its production. Let’s face it, were never going to get that golden tan if our body is not producing enough melanin. Things we can eat that are rich in this amino acid are meat (beef, chicken, turkey etc), fish (especially salmon), seaweed (bring on the sushi!), soy foods, dairy foods (cheese, milk, etc), egg whites, and nuts.
Another important element we need to get into our bodies is riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2. This helps to activate the melanin production process. Support the activation of melanin production by eating foods rich in riboflavin. Coincidentally (or thanks to Mother Nature!) these foods are the same as those high in Tyrosine (see above).
Step 3: Activate you tan
Now that you are eating foods rich in beta carotene, tyrosine, and riboflavin your body should have all the important building blocks it needs to create a tan, so it’s time to activate the tanning process!
There are several ways you can activate your body’s tanning process: lie in the sun or have a sunbed session. The UV light triggers the melanin production process, and your skin will begin to tan. One little secret Carrot Sun will share with you is that using our products will stimulate your skin to tan as well, because they all contain tyrosine. So if you’re looking to boost your tan and further stimulate melanin production from the outside, use your Carrot Sun while exposed to the sun/sunbeds. Our Original Carrot Cream actually contains carotene antioxidants, vitamin A, and omega-3 fatty acids, which have moisturizing and cell-regenerative properties, perfect to add along with these new eating habits!
Keep up your tanning sessions, eat right, and you’ll always have a glowing tan. And just to top it off, all the healthy foods listed here are rich in vitamins and minerals completely beneficial to you, leading to what we all want: being healthier, with stronger hair, nails and skin. Carrot Sun knows you’ll be feeling and looking fantastic!
Tanning Superfoods:
Carrots, Tomatoes, Spinach, Spirulina (Seaweed), Bell Peppers, Kale, Turnips, Pumpkins, Winter Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Cantaloupe, Red Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Mustard Greens, Cabbage, Apricots, Olive Oil, Meats, Fish, Almonds, Cheese, Milk, Soy foods.
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