Buzz
What if we could avoid sunburn and skin cancer simply by eating natural foods instead of using sunscreen? It's an appealing thought, which is why it's so widely shared on TikTok. Unfortunately, this idea doesn’t hold up in reality.
Can we stop with the 'sunscreen is toxic' nonsense already?
While food-as-sunscreen TikToks don't always directly claim it, they often play into the myth that sunscreen is harmful. (And you wouldn't believe how many 'actually, sunscreen causes cancer' claims I had to scroll past while researching this article.)
As I’ve stated before, this isn't a rational approach to risk management. It's sheer nonsense. The dangers of UV exposure are well-established, while the dangers of sunscreen remain largely speculative. Any legitimate concerns are more along the lines of 'it would be helpful to have more research to understand if certain sunscreens are safer than others.' This is definitely not on the same level as 'avoid sunscreen because it’s harmful.'
You don't need to take my word for it. The American Academy of Dermatology has a page dedicated to sunscreen safety, where they summarize the evidence like this: 'Scientific studies support the benefits of wearing sunscreen when you will be outside.'
What the science truly says about food and sun damage
The TikToks claiming natural sun protection provide a list of foods that supposedly shield from sun damage. Occasionally, they may even recommend a specific supplement. However, they rarely provide essential details about what should be considered when suggesting a preventative treatment, such as:
What dosage is necessary to achieve the desired results?
Has this been tested on humans?
What level of protection does the food or supplement offer, and how was it measured?
Does the protection take effect immediately, or how long does it take to start working?
Does the effectiveness vary across different individuals?
Does the protective ingredient degrade over time, and is there a way to maintain its protection (similar to reapplying sunscreen)?
What are the potential drawbacks of using the food or supplement at the recommended dosage?
FDA-approved sunscreens have clear answers to all of these questions. The foods suggested on TikTok, however, do not. Instead, we get vague advice like 'Eat watermelons, tomatoes, walnuts, carrots...'
If you examine the research, it doesn't really back up the claims (or implications) made by TikTokers. For instance, here’s a study that shows an antioxidant in walnuts can protect human skin cells from some UV damage. Sounds promising, right? Until you realize that the skin cells weren't actually from humans, but were a human-derived mutant cell line (a normal lab procedure). The researchers created a walnut extract and mixed it with the cells in tiny cell culture plates—basically test tubes. To recap: this study didn’t involve humans, eating walnuts as food, sunlight, or sunburn.
Here’s a more relevant study: Light-skinned, non-smoking participants ate 40 grams of tomato paste (about three tablespoons) along with 10 grams of olive oil every day. After 10 weeks, they showed less reddening of their skin when exposed to a UV lamp. That’s promising! Very cool! If you felt motivated and wanted to start eating tomato paste (going through a small can every 4 days), I wouldn’t stop you.
But consider what the study didn’t find. It doesn't tell us how people with lighter or darker skin tones would react. It also doesn’t explain how this protection might change over time—would you see the same results by the end of the summer as at the start if you used this as your sole sun protection?
And most importantly, the study only found that those who ate tomato paste had less reddening of their skin. It didn’t completely prevent sunburn. TikTokers talk about these foods as if they are magic potions or free passes from sunburn. Even the most promising studies don’t support that idea.
And naturally, everyone is pushing a supplement.
If there’s one thing wellness TikTokers are known for, it’s hawking supplements. These products are cheap to manufacture, easy to ship, simple to explain ('X is good for Y'), and anyone can drop an affiliate link in their bio to make a quick profit.
Enter the sunburn-preventing supplements. The latest craze is Heliocare, which, of course, has a 'brand affiliate' program. It’s derived from a fern called Polypodium leucotomos, and there’s actually some research supporting the idea that it might help reduce sunburn a little.
However, just like with the tomato studies, the findings are only mildly interesting. This is not something that will allow you to ditch sunscreen if you're being responsible. I’ve looked at the data, and frankly, I’m not sure I see any significant difference in redness at later timepoints. If this supplement only delays the appearance of sunburn, it’s not particularly useful. In fact, it could potentially be worse, as it might trick you into staying out in the sun longer before you realize how severe your burn is.
Once again, a statistically significant difference in redness does not equal complete (or even partial) sunburn prevention. Additionally, the Heliocare dosage (one 240-milligram pill per day) is far lower than what was used in the study (7.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, which comes out to 528 milligrams for a 154-pound person, or over two pills). Taking three pills a day means that $34.99 bottle will only last you 20 days. Honestly, I don't see how this compares to simply using sunscreen.
