Skin protection and lutein!

Since we are in the midst of summer I thought I'd share what I think is one of the most relevant vitamins out there right now for skin health, lutein. I consider lutein the blockbuster of vitamins. In recent studies it has shown to have incredible heart, eye and now skin health benefits. Lutein is a carotenoid found in leafy green vegetables, such as spinach and kale.

According to a study published in 2007 in Skin Pharmacology & Physiology, lutein may help promote long-term skin health in the following ways:
- Moisturizing - Increasing skin hydration and elasticity.
- Anti-Aging - Increasing superficial skin lipid content, while decreasing the oxidation of skin lipids, which can cause degration of the skin.
- Sun protection - Protection the skin from damage associated with exposure to UV light by helping to bolster the skin's antioxidant defense system protecting against sun damage.

Please note that although lutein has been recently added to many multivitamins, most of the time there is barely any lutein added. Lutein is expensive and vitamin companies seem to just add it to their multivitamins to "say" it is in there but there there is very little (such as 250 mcg). Make sure to check how much lutein is in your multivitamin or take a separate lutein supplement that has at least 6mg - 15 mg of lutein.