Which are best Summer fruits to keep your skin and hair looking its best? Dr Zara Kassam PhD takes a look at the top 5.

What are you eating this summer to get that boost of nutrients that you need for skin and hair health? We all know fruits are great for your health, but are you eating the ones that are best for you? To make things easier for you, we’ve selected 5 of the best Summer fruits and highlighted their incredible benefits.

While many foods make great face masks, the best health benefit comes from eating them.

To find out what your fridge should be stocked with this Summer keep reading.

1. Watermelon

Watermelon is one of the best summer fruits. It contains around 91 % water, which helps keeps the body hydrated. Each salacious bite has significant levels of vitamins A, B6 and C, lots of lycopene and other antioxidants, plus amino acids. It’s a Summer essential snack  and is fat-free, very low in sodium and has just 47 calories per cup or 30 per 100mg.

Fruits that are high in antioxidants and amino acids help your body to function optimally. Antioxidants help repair cells and prevent cell damage. Amino acids are the basic building block for protein, and protein is used in virtually every vital function in the body, It also has benefits for the skin as well, helping it firmer and healthier.

And you can eat the seeds – they’re as beneficial, if not more, than the fruit itself. The seeds  contain unsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid that keep the skin elastic and youthful.

2. Berries

Fresh produce like blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries are delicious in their prime.

No stone is left unturned when it comes to assessing the benefits of these nutrient-rich super berries. From delaying signs of aging to aiding weight loss, berries hold the key to better skin, hair, and health. Did you know that just one cup of wild blueberries has up to 13,427 antioxidants, including Vitamin A and C, as well as flavonoids?

It has been proven that consumption of blueberries helps with several skin conditions and its topical application has been touted as the cure for damaged or acne-prone skin.

The antioxidants present also inhibit oxidisation occurring in the skin, they react with free radicals and prevent them from causing damage. The presence of free radicals in the skin can cause severe skin damage. It can cause early signs of aging, such as wrinkles, dry skin, and age spots.

3. Pineapple

Pineapples are a low-calorie fruit that are rich in fibre, they boost the production of collagen like many other fruits. Furthermore, they help the skin to shed damaged and dead cells, thereby promoting a clear and healthy complexion.

Along with anti-oxidants this tropical fruit contains bromelain, thought to fight inflammation in a similar manner to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs which combat inflammation. Just a small serving of pineapple each day can help to ease joint pain and other ailments associated with inflammation.

The nutrients provided by a pineapple work well as part of a complete cancer prevention regimen. The nutrients in this fruit work to combat free radicals and they help your body get what it needs for optimal health. Keeping cell damage to a minimum and being overall healthy may work to prevent cancer.

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4. Citrus Fruits

Name a citrus fruit and it’s probably good for your skin: oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, they are all rich in vitamin C and amino acids like proline and lysine which play a role in collagen production, and which can keep skin looking young and youthful.

Grapefruit, is a great but often the neglected citrus fruit of the summer season. It has one of  the highest concentrations of Vitamin C in the citrus family and as we know, Vitamin C is necessary to produce and protect collagen in the skin. Grapefruit extracts are commonly used in skin and hair care products to help reduce conditions such as dandruff and acne. If you suffer from sun spots or uneven skin tone, citrus fruits can help with those, too. That’s because grapefruit also contains retinol, the anti-aging antioxidant which aids in skin renewal and repairing damaged skin. The potassium in grapefruits helps to smooth wrinkles and age spots and provides a protective shield against UV rays.

5. Papaya:

Papaya is perhaps one of the most well-known fruits when it comes to skin care. It is a common ingredient in many skin care products as it is a rich source of Vitamin C.

What makes papaya so effective is that it also contains carotenoids like beta-carotene and lycopene. Together, these nutrients do wonders for the skin. They help protect the skin against free-radical damage, which results in wrinkles and other signs of ageing. When used directly on the face and body, papaya helps improve the texture and the appearance of the skin. This nutrient rich fruit also absorbs toxins in the colon that can potentially cause cancer and eliminates them from the body through bowel movement. Due to this property, papaya aids digestion and imparts a beautiful glow to your skin.

Papaya is replete with vitamin A and minerals like phosphorus, iron, potassium, copper, manganese, calcium, and magnesium. Vitamin A is required to maintain healthy vision while phosphorus is needed for good heart health.

The antioxidants present in dried papaya help to strengthen immunity and eliminate free radicals that are hazardous to your health. Papaya also contains bioflavonoids are semi-essential nutrients that work as nature’s modifiers and respond to biological changes in the body. The bioflavonoids in papaya modify the reaction of the body to viruses, carcinogens, and allergens, thereby protecting it from harmful and life-threatening diseases.

What’s on your summer menu? Make sure you let us know.