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Tomatoes are a luscious fruit that not only tastes delicious in a huge variety of recipes and dishes but have been shown to help prevent sunburns along with UV-related sun damage and aging. Now you can feel great every time you bite into this bright red fruit knowing that you are doing something great for your health as well as your complexion.

A small study consisting of 20 people was performed at the Universities of Newcastle and Manchester revealing that tomatoes have a unique capacity to improve the skin’s own ability to protect itself against damaging UV rays. Subjects were given 5TBL of tomato paste combined with 2tsp of olive oil while another group was given straight olive oil without any tomato paste daily for 12 weeks.

Those that consumed the tomato paste/olive oil blend not only showed significant improvements in their skin’s ability to protect itself but also showed a reduction in sunburns as well as an increase in the level of “procollagen” a molecule that gives the skin elasticity and structure.

The researchers discovered that the key component for these reactions was lycopene, the compound responsible for the bright red color of tomatoes. Lycopene is a very powerful antioxidant that fights free radicals keeping them from damaging your skin cells.

Although, you can’t rely on tomatoes as your sole source of sun protection they make a great addition to your fight against aging. And the beauty is that you can enjoy them raw or mixed into your favorite recipes (you can even add them to cake recipes!) So, go on and add this juicy fruit to you diet and reap the wonderful skin rewards.