IT’S TIME TO COVER UP

IT’S only May but already ultraviolet (UV) light being belted out by the sun is as high as mid-August.

That means it’s time to start taking precautions not to get sunburnt.

The problem with current sunscreens is that they’re not 100 per cent protective — what they need are more antioxidants, or so argues Dr Charareh Pourzand, a researcher from the Centre for Therapeutic Innovation at Bath University. Sun cream works by blocking or absorbing UV light, thereby lowering the amount of damaging free-radical molecules created on your skin. Dr Pourzand and her team have identified antioxidant compounds in nuts, seeds, bark and flowers that, at least in the laboratory, help protect the skin. The hope is that adding these compounds to sunscreens will make them more effective. In the meantime, cover up.