We Eat Our Sunscreen. Do You? Nutrients that Protect Your Skin From the Inside
3:52 PM Posted by jo
Do you use regular sunscreen? Summer is around the corner and the advertising for sunscreen can be found everywhere. They fail to tell you how dangerous the chemicals are, and how the sunscreen block the skin's ability to synthesize Vitamin D from the sun. It can reduce the vitamin D production by 99%.
Vitamin D has many health benefits and it is very important for your health. The benefits of Vitamin D are many, but some are:
- Supports the immune system.
- Helps to keep the bones strong.
- Supports cardiovascular health.
- Supports healthy teeth.
The body needs to be exposed to natural sunlight. According to Mercola, studies have shown that people being outdoors without being sunburned decrease their risk of getting melanoma.
The best is to limit your exposure in the sun, gradually build up the skin's exposure to the sun instead of spending hours outside the first time after winter, eat appropriate food and supplements to protect the skin from the inside, and wear protective clothing.
Our family protect our skin from the inside. We use the following:
- Essential fatty acids - Essential fatty acids keep the nutrients and the water in, but keep the toxins out by maintaining the cell membranes. They have inflammatory properties. Skin cells made of essential fatty acids such as Omega 3 are better at handling free radicals than cells made of saturated fat. It is hard to come by non toxic fish today, and even supplements have been found to be toxic.
Be picky when you buy fish, make sure you avoid farm raised salmon since the omega 3 level is not very high. It most likely include many toxins and chemicals due to being raised in a fish farm. You also want to stay away from bottom feeder fish. Good sourcers are wild salmon, herring, mackerel (not king), anchovies, flax seed and walnuts.
Supplementation is also an option if you don't eat fish about two - four times a week. Make sure you buy from a company that you trust. Just stay away from cod liver oil, according to Dr.Mercola, there is a chance that you receive too much vitamin D if you use cod liver in combination with sun exposure.
- Antioxidants - Skin damage is caused by oxidation, free radicals steal electrons from healthy cells. Antioxidants neutralizes the free radicals. Carotenoids is one group of antioxidants with many healing benefits. Lycopene is a carotene found in tomatoes, and other red fruits and vegetables such as carrot, watermelons and papayas. Lutein is another carotene found in dark green leafy vegetables. Betacarotene is found in carrots, canteloup, pumpkin, apricots and sweet potato.
Other antioxidants we include are vitamin C and vitamin E. Vitamin C is involved in the production of collagen, as an antioxidant it protects the cells from free radical damage. Food high in vitamin C are bell peppers, broccoli, mangoes, oranges, pineapples, strawberries and tomatoes. Vitamin E can be found in wheatgerm, nuts, seeds, spinach and swiss chard.
Food comes first in our family and supplements cannot replace a good diet, but we live in a place where the sun is very strong with many sunny days per year. We eat many colorful fruits and vegetables, and add nuts and seeds as snacks. We also add Brazil nuts for the selenium. To make sure we protect the skin properly since we also spend much time outdoors, we supplement with an extra Carotenoid blend.
You can make tasty salads, make yummy smoothies, or eat the fruit and vegetables the way they are.
We also stay well hydrated, make sure we get enough trace minerals, vitalized protein and vitamins in the summer heat. We add oxygen drops with electrolytes, enzymes, amino acids and trace minerals to our drinking water.
There are times when you absolutely need a sunscreen, especially when you find yourself out in the sun all day without any shade.
Look for a a natural alternative without any harmful chemicals. Avoid chemicals like octyl methoxycinnamate, Para amino benzoic acid, Octyl salicyclate, Avobenzone, Oxybenzone, Cinoxate, Padimate O, Dioxybenzone, Phenylbenzimidazole, Homosalate, Sulisobenzone, Menthyl anthranilate, Trolamine salicyclate, Octocrylene, and parabens.
Look for a a natural alternative without any harmful chemicals. Avoid chemicals like octyl methoxycinnamate, Para amino benzoic acid, Octyl salicyclate, Avobenzone, Oxybenzone, Cinoxate, Padimate O, Dioxybenzone, Phenylbenzimidazole, Homosalate, Sulisobenzone, Menthyl anthranilate, Trolamine salicyclate, Octocrylene, and parabens.
Make a soothing spray for the summer:
