Could pizza and spaghetti bolognese fight wrinkles?

08/05/2008

Pizza and spaghetti bolognese could become new tools in the fight against sunburn and wrinkles - because they contain very high levels of tomatoes which improves the skin's ability ability to protect against harmful UV rays.

 

A study on the beneficial effects of the humble tomato presented at the British Society for Investigative Dermatology, suggests that the antioxidant lycopene - found at its highest concentration when the fruit has been cooked - has already been linked to a reduction in the risk of prostate cancer. But now researchers have suggested it may also help ward off skin damage by providing some protection against the effects of UV rays.

 

Ten volunteers were fed around 55g of standard tomato paste - which contains high levels of cooked tomatoes - and 10g of olive oil daily, whilst a further 10 participants received just the olive oil.

 

After three months, skin samples from the tomato group showed they had 33% more protection against sunburn - the equivalent of a very low factor sun cream - and much higher levels of procollagen, a molecule which gives the skin its structure and keeps its firm.

 

Professor Lesley Rhodes, a dermatologist at the University of Manchester, said: "The tomato diet significantly boosted the level of procollagen in the skin, suggesting potential reversal of the skin ageing process. And we weren't feeding the group huge amounts of tomato - just the sort of quantity you would easily manage if you were eating a lot of tomato-based meals."

 

Italian restaurant owners must be jumping for joy all across the UK ...