What if sunburn protection – and getting a light, healthy-looking tan in the bargain – were as simple as swallowing a capsule?
Well, they are – at least according to some producers of beta-carotene dietary supplements.
Beta-carotene is a carotenoid, a class of mainly yellow, orange or red fat-soluble pigments produced by plants.
It’s what gives carrots their bright orange colour and is also found in apricots and spinach (where other pigments mask the colour).
It’s a precursor to vitamin A, a nutrient vital for vision and cell growth and differentiation in humans, among other things.
When consumed in sufficient amounts, beta-carotene can indeed give your skin a certain brownish hue, says Angela Clausen, nutrition expert at the consumer advice centre in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
The pigment is deposited in the skin’s outermost layer.
As for protection against harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun though, its effect is “slight at best”, the NRW centre says, citing findings by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
So, to safeguard against sunburn and a resulting increased risk of skin cancer, it’s important to apply sunscreen with an appropriate sun protection factor (SPF) to skin not covered by clothing.
Only a few small studies, according to the EFSA, have found beta-carotene supplements useful in sunburn protection.
But the test subjects took more than 20mg daily for at least 10 weeks, far more than the maximum 3.5mg daily deemed safe by Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), whose remit is the protection of human health.
High-dose beta-carotene supplements can pose health risks.
Some studies have found they increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers, the NRW centre points out.
It’s not known why.
Many of the “sun capsules” on the market make no mention of the risks.
Just nine of 23 supplements evaluated by the NRW centre are labelled as not sufficient for sunburn protection.
And just three of them satisfy the BfR’s safe-dose limit. – dpa
