Beauty Tips

Health & Beauty Report: The Beauty Benefits of 8 Heart Healthy Foods

Celebrate American Heart Month by indulging in these foods that are good for both your health and beauty

by Audrey Fine

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Tomatoes = youthful, acne-free, protected skin The scoop: Tomatoes, the fruits long heralded for their cancer fighting and heart helping lycopene compounds and carotenoids, are super good for your complexion and hair too. Why? Lycopene attacks the free radicals that excel in sucking moisture out of cells and breaking down the support system of hair and skin. And, tomatoes also boast "tomatin," an anti-inflammatory substance that can heal wounds and help acne.

In fact, because they're such good beauty boosters, several companies market cult-fave tomato based beauty products, including Burt's Bees Garden Tomato Complexion Soap for Oil and Troubled Skin, $6, Eminence Tomato Lycopene Masque, $48 and Yes to Tomatoes Tremendous Tomato Daily Volumizing Conditioner, $9.

Tip: Cooking tomatoes substantially raises their health benefits, which should come as great news to fans of spaghetti sauce. And, in their book "SuperFoods RX," Dr. Steven Pratt and Kathy Matthews call tomato paste a "health food wonder" and say that "since it's particularly rich in lycopene, use [it] in sauces, soups, and stews to boost the nutrient content." Tastes great too.

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