Just kidding! Please don’t eat that TOXIC crap! However…..here are some good ways to boost your skins natural sun protection.
We all know that being in the sun is easiest way to get Vitamin D, but its easy to get sunburned too. Did you know what you eat influences how you burn? But remember too much UV rays can be harmful so combining healthy real foods with good, non-toxic sunscreen is best.
Before I get into boosting tips and foods, I want to touch based on sunscreen. Being more aware of the chemicals in your sunscreen can protect your body even beyond just from the sun. Most sunscreens contain toxic ingredients or endocrine disrupting chemicals and in some cases can promote skin cancer and free radical production. Even some of the natural, commercially available sunscreens can have toxic ingredients.
Oxybenzone, is a known hormone disruptor. Think about this: vitamin D - needed for correct hormone formation. Sunscreen ingredients such as oxybenzone inhibits correct hormone formation. Considering most people are deficient in Vitamin D, most likely due to lack of sun exposure. Vitamin D deficiency is linked to many types of cancers as well as problems during pregnancy, immune issues, and much more. With the Standard American Diet (SAD for short) or Chronic Inflammation Diet (CID for short), people are getting more bad Omega 6s from vegetable oils (like fried foods, canola oil, etc) and not enough good Omega 3s from fish, flaxseed, and grass-fed meats.
When looking for sunscreen in the store or online, I look for zinc oxide. Some of the better brands Badger, Alba Botanical Mineral Sunscreen, and Naked Turtle Mineral sunscreen. There are several recipes out there if you want to make your own!
So, how can you start protecting your skin from the inside out?
1. Eat a Real Food Diet With Enough Good Fats
A large part of natural sun protection is eating an anti-inflammatory diet. To make sure the body has the proper building blocks for healthy skin and to reduce inflammation, consuming enough healthy saturated, monounsaturated, and omega-3 fats while avoiding polyunsaturated fatty acids and high omega-6 vegetable oils. Making sure that your diet is high in micronutrients from vegetables, omega-3s, and fat-soluble vitamins from fish, and monounsaturated and saturated fats from plant and animal sources.
This type of diet will also be beneficial for many other health conditions, so avoiding:
processed foods
vegetable oils (this is the most important tip for sun exposure) (and margarine, made from these oils) are oils extracted from seeds like the rapeseed (canola oil) soybean (soybean oil), corn, sunflower, safflower, etc.
grains
sugars
and consuming:
healthy sources of saturated fats and monounsaturated fats - coconut oil, avocado oil, avocados
foods rich in omega-3s (fish, etc.)
lots of leafy greens
2+ tablespoons of tomato paste daily (for the lycopene and skin protection)
2. Eat Antioxidants
Just by avoiding grains and omega-6 oils as well as focusing on proteins, fats, and vegetables instead, your diet will be higher in antioxidants than the Standard American Diet. Even real food “treats” like berries and dark chocolate are packed with antioxidants. Antioxidants help reduce inflammation and free radicals.
3. Up the Vitamin D
By optimizing two things: omega-3 consumption, mentioned earlier, and vitamin D levels.
Why it works: Melanin, the dark pigment that we get when we tan, is produced to shield the skin from further UV exposure by providing a type of barrier. This is why those with darker skin need more sun that those with fairer skin to get the same amount of vitamin D.
When the body has enough vitamin D, it will start producing melanin to keep from getting too much. There is evidence that optimizing vitamin D levels through sun exposure and even through supplementation will help the body produce melanin faster and retain it longer.
4. Gradual Sun Exposure
Moderate and safe sun exposure has the most benefits for vitamin D levels. Sunburn is never good! Getting less sun exposure than you think you need at first and work up really slowly to avoid burning. It is best achieved in the morning or evening and avoiding that mid-day sun.
5. Natural Sun Protection
With the recent research on the benefits of sun exposure and the potential harmful substances in many sunscreens, we choose natural ways to protect from the sun once we’ve gotten enough exposure at any time. The first (and best) option is just to cover up or get in the shade if possible. A hat and shirt are reusable, don’t contain harmful chemicals, and do a great job of protecting from excess sun exposure.
If you have to be outside in the bright sun for extended periods of time and can’t seek shade or cover up, use a natural sunscreen.
6. Supplement Support
This time of year, taking a specific regimen of supplements to help reduce inflammation and improve sun tolerance can aid in your natural sun protection.
The supplements to think about adding in:
Vitamin D3 w/Vitamin K2
Vitamin C – a potent antioxidant and also has many other benefits to the body.
Omega-3s and Krill oil
Cataplex F - Standard Process - 6 pills 2 hours before sun exposure. It has EFAs
Calcium lactate - Standard Process - when you heat up, your body tends to burn up calcium
If you do get a sunburn:
USF ointment - from Standard Process-
Cataplex AC - Standard Process - vitamin A & C to help your body heal internally
Apple cider vinegar
Aloe gel
Foods to enjoy all summer long:
Eat coconut oil and use as moisturizer
Carrots for the beta-carotene that protects skin against free-radical damage
Strawberries (and all berries) for antioxidants. Strawberries also have vitamin c and tannins (which whelp reduce the sting)
Green tea-catechins- helps with long term UV radiation and can calm the burn/inflammation
Almonds - Vitamin E
Leafy greens - antioxidants
Watermelon - lycopene - minimizes inflammation and free radical damage
Flaxseeds - omega 3 - helps keep skin moisturized and protects from UV rays
If you would like to purchase any of the Standard Process products mentioned in this article, follow this LINK (click here) and create an account.