SkinFitnessFacts.com News

It seems that every time I go online to browse the specials at SkinStore.com I come across a skin care product that boasts its use of exotic fruits and vegetables.

Certainly ingredients like grapefruit seed extract and cucumber are better than methylparaben and C9-15 Fluoroalcohol Phosphate.

One of the latest raves is an extract from the dragon fruit. Israeli Biotechnology Research (IBR) says that the dragron fruit has natural UV protection properties and has the effect of making the skin feel tighter and stronger. More importantly, the dragon fruit helps to slow down cell proliferation allowing for the skin to look younger (fewer wrinkles and fine lines) too.

The dragonfruit is commonly eaten in Asia and is recognizable by its pink color on the outside, the white melon on the inside, and the black seeds that make the fruit polka-dotted.

I have yet to try a product containing dragon fruit extract, but I’d love to hear from anyone who has used the dragon fruit in their skin fitness regimen.

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A Skin Fitness Facts reader stopped by to share her experience of eating oranges and how it helped improve her hyperpigmentation (melasma)…

“Can I just point out that a month ago I fell ill with the flu. During that time I ate many oranges and I actually noticed a reduction in the melasma. My skin looked better than it had for years! I don’t whether this was related to the oranges or not, but I have not seen my skin like that for years!

Could there be a link between oranges and hyperpigmentation?”

To answer the question … yes, absolutely. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, which is known for protecting the skin from free-radicals in the environment and it promotes collagen production.

Skin Fitness Facts covered this same topic in another post, “How many oranges does it take to remove melasma?” Check it out to learn how certain skin care products and nutrition can help improve hyperpigmentation and your skin’s fitness.

I talk quite a bit about the benefits of vitamin A for treating dry skin, acne, and melasma. Whether it’s through foods such as carrots, a daily supplement, or topical skin care products, the ingredients needed to create vitamin A–retinol and beta carotene–work wonders to encourage new cell growth leading to great skin fitness.

But…(and this is a big but) if you are pregnant, then maybe extra vitamin A isn’t so great for your skin fitness or overall health.

Doctors often encourage their expecting moms to stay away from too much vitamin A in drugs and in foods. Although topical skin care products containing retinoids may not be all that bad, it might be worth talking to your doctor to be sure.

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