Eating chocolate could help to protect your skin from sunburn. Dr Richard Turner, a leading dermatologist in Oxford, has been looking into the kind of things we can eat to make us less likely to burn in the sun – and hopefully cut our risk of skin cancer. Incredibly, eating oily fish – things like mackerel and herring – can give your skin an in-built SPF of 2 or 3, meaning you can stay in the sun up to three times longer than usual before you burn. There is a catch though – you have to eat around 4 portions a week. But Dr Turner says that there is proof that if you do this for around four to ten weeks it does work. Other food substances that offer skin protection are vitamin A – found in things like carrots, spinach and eggs and vitamin E which is in green, leafy veg. Lycopene which is an antioxidant found in red foods like tomatoes and watermelon also helps. The beneficial effects of cocoa are the most recent discovery. Dr Turner said when he made the discovery he found it ‘very reassuring’ and added he’d be having more chocolate when he got home from work. One thing Dr Turner says is that this only works if you take the vitamins and oils in food – supplements don’t offer the same benefits to the skin and can in some cases be harmful. And he adds that peoples' behaviour towards sun is the biggest factor in preventing skin cancer: "Go on holiday in the spring or autumn half term and don’t go for holidays in the summer if you can avoid it. And if you’re going to go out in the sun do so in the morning before 11 or after 3 in the afternoon, cover up with clothes, and wear sunscreen of a factor 30 or above, put on two of three times more than you think you need to do and reapply every two hours or after swimming." Every year sixty thousand new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the UK so it seems sensible to do everything possible to prevent burning. Dr Turner says "you can start by just thinking about your diet – you get many of the nutrients needed from a big salad with lots of dark, leafy greens and tomatoes or a carrot and corander soup, followed by fish and then a chocolate mousse". And by clicking on the links below you can find lots of healthy, skin-friendly recipes to try: Alternatively you can search for recipes by ingredient by clicking on the link on the right of this page. | 
