Foods That Fight Skin Cancer Need an Endcap

Move that sunscreen display and promote real foods that offer your shoppers foods to fight off skin cancers. Yes, they will still need sunscreens, but combined with these foods, their chance to fight off this type of cancer is greatly improved.

A large study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association of Dermatology finds that increased vitamin A from foods, especially, was linked to lower rates of a malignant skin cancer in more than 100,000 people.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, rates of skin cancer have tripled in the past three decades, and they predict that 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer within their lifetime.  

Vitamin A is linked to other various health benefits, which include aiding in immune, bone, vision growth and reproductive health, as well as protection from UV rays.

Build that display loaded with orange-hued beta carotene foods: pumpkin, carrots, peppers, cantaloupes, mango and sweet potatoes. The deeper the hue, the more carotenoids in that food. Leafy greens such as spinach and kale also have large amounts of vitamin A, as well as meat and milk-based proteins such as liver, eggs, beef, whole milk and cheese.

The majority of vitamin A intake from the study participants was derived from diet—not from supplements, the researchers said.

This is consistent with other studies comparing food vs. supplements. A study from earlier this year showed that nutrients found in food, not supplements, held the most powerful factors to help reduce the risk of death and cancer.  

This study is another example of how eating a rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables can help protect against disease and sustain a healthy lifestyle as well as being satisfying and delicious.