By eating spinach and cabbage you are going to have elastic and hydrated skin because of lutein, which protects you from the oxidant action of time and the sun. But only if you don’t smoke and drink alcohol.
Green cabbage, turnip, Savoy cabbage, spinach, broccoli, wheat, peas, lettuce, chicory, turnip tops, watercress, radicchio, basil, parsley, arugula, Brussel sprouts, leeks, pumpkin, paprika and papaya. All these food products are sources of lutein, an antioxidant carotenoid that should be taken in through food, since our body doesn’t produce it by itself.
Lutein, according to a study conducted by the division of Dermatology of Naples University, protects the eyes and, by depositing on the skin, it increases skin hydration and improves skin elasticity. Research shows that women who participated in the study had a reduced lipid peroxidation, a marker of damaged free radicals.
“Lutein – explains professor Morganti, lead researcher – is an oxi-carotenoid whose molecule, similar to beta-carotene, has two -OH groups at the outer surface. Thanks to this, while from beta-carotene two molecules of vitamin A can form, lutein has photoprotective and hydrating properties that can neutralise all types of free radicals inside and outside the cell in the macula lutea of the eyes as well as in the epidermis”.
Lutein is found in all green leaf vegetables but even in carrots and yellow-orange fruits. These foods should be consumed four or five times a day, keeping in mind that the ideal daily intake of lutein should be 10 mg in a varied and balanced meal.
The factors that can tackle the anti-ageing action of lutein are smoke, alcohol consumption and gastroenteric, liver and kidney pathologies.
Tradotto da Francesca Clemente