Continued from The Sun-Protective Diet.

As summer approaches, men and women might be surprised to learn that their eating habits may determine not just how well they fit into their Speedos and bikinis, but also how well they protect their skin against sun damage and skin cancer.

Tomato Sauce In a study of volunteers who ate tomato sauce daily, sun sensitivity was reduced by 32 percent. (The 11 volunteers consumed two to three tablespoons of tomato paste with olive oil daily for ten weeks.)

Cooked tomatoes provide large amounts of the antioxidant lycopene, and oil improves the body’s absorption of it, says Wilhelm Stahl, biochemistry professor at the Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf in Germany.

Though the sun protection is low — equivalent to an SPF of 2 or 3 — it covers the whole body, lasts all day after consumption, and helps guard against the cumulative effects of inadvertent sun exposure, he says.

Spinach Green leafy vegetables have been shown to prevent squamous-cell skin cancer, or at least its recurrence.

In an 11-year study of more than 1,000 participants, those who had previously had skin cancer and who regularly ate vegetables such as spinach and chard reduced their risk of the cancer returning by up to 55 percent.

Spinach is full of antioxidants, such as folate and vitamins C and E, that counteract the sun’s damaging effects, according to researcher Jolieke van der Pols of the University of Queensland in Australia.

Cocoa Dark chocolate with elevated levels of antioxidants called flavonols can make skin less susceptible to sunburn.

In a study of 24 women from the Journal of Nutrition, volunteers who drank a specially formulated chocolate beverage daily for 12 weeks had 25 percent less skin redness in response to UV exposure and also improved their skin texture and hydration.

The drink is available in CocoaVia, a line of products made by Mars, which also includes high-flavonol chocolate bars and chocolate-covered nuts. (Eating three to four ounces of dark chocolate daily should give similar effects, the researchers say.) [via]