Skin Health and Using the Sun as Medicine
What better time to talk about skin health than the summertime? Before you lather on the daily SPF, I wanted to highlight all things skin health: how to protect your skin while benefiting from the healing powers of the sun, specific foods that can boost skin health and naturally aid in protecting your skin barrier, and my recommendations for non-toxic sunscreens.
Introduction to Skin Health
With the rise in cancer rates and the common advice to put sunscreen on every time you step outside, many people have a slight fear of the sun. BUT, it is possible to enjoy the sunlight and its healing power while still making responsible skin protection choices!
Wearing non-toxic mineral-based cream sunscreen, utilizing shade when UV rays are at their highest, and getting natural sunlight sunscreen-free in the morning and evening are ways you can still harness the healing benefits of the sun while being responsible in protecting your skin.
Power of Natural Sunlight
Due to our modern-age world, we spend most of our time indoors. This transition of spending less time connected with nature and under the sun has a profound and lasting impact on our health and our connection to the earth. The ways our bodies are designed to function are so strongly intertwined with natural sunlight that it is arguably the foundation in whole-body wellness. Light not only nourishes and supports our cells–it heals us.
Circadian rhythms
Circadian rhythms are defined as 24-hour cycles that help govern essential bodily functions. Circadian rhythms are our internal clocks that help dictate our conscious habits such as naturally waking up in the morning while regulating unconscious internal functions like digestion.
When we live in tune with nature and are exposed to its natural progression of sunlight or lack of, it helps support optimal health–especially when it comes to hormone regulation. Morning sunlight exposure releases the hormone cortisol and promotes alertness and mental clarity while dusk or sunset releases a different hormone called melatonin to promote relaxation and tiredness. Spending more time under artificial light in our homes or staring at a device emitting blue light can create sleep disturbances and trick our bodies into feeling more awake, despite it being dark outside.
Other benefits of natural sunlight exposure:
Increased vitamin D levels
In fact, every single cell in our body has a vitamin D receptor!
Balance hormones
Improves gut health
Ways to Protect Your Skin
Protecting your skin from UV damage or certain skin diseases caused by the sun not only comes in the form of what you put on your body, but what you put in. Topicals and sun-protective clothing are helpful, but holistic nourishment in the form of sleep quality, prioritizing whole foods, managing daily stress responses, and engaging in regular exercise all contribute to a more vibrant body and more resilient skin.
Topicals
When it comes to sunscreen topicals, I focus on cream-and-mineral-based formulas. Many well-known sunscreens include fragrances and harmful chemicals such as oxybenzone, octinoxate, avobenzone, and other endocrine-disrupting additives. Aerosol sunscreens can be particularly harmful because of your risk of inhaling toxic chemicals when sprayed on your body.
In an article, Nneka Leiba, the vice president of healthy living science at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), stated, “Small particles of the spray can get deep into the lungs and cause irreversible damage.”
The EWG is a guide to healthier and cleaner living. I love using the app to scan and look up everyday products such as household cleaners, laundry, and personal care to assess the toxicity and get a deeper understanding of certain harmful chemicals that are used.
Check out EWG’s recommendations for clean sunscreen by clicking here.
Recommendations for sunscreen topicals:
Not all sunscreens are created equally! My favorite sunscreen products: Colorescience for face SPF and Babo Botanicals for my body!
Foods that Enhance Skin Resiliency and Promote Overall Wellness:
Vitamin c
Citrus fruits, bell peppers, strawberries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts
vitamin e
Nuts and seeds: almonds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, hazelnuts, peanuts
Vitamin A
Carrots, sweet potatoes, mango, spinach, beef liver
Antioxidants
Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, spinach, kale, pecans
Avoiding seed oils and processed foods
Healthy fats
Including a fat, fiber, and protein at every meal
Adequate hydration
My favorite electrolytes are the Re-Lytes by Redmond!
Enjoy the mood-boosting and hormone-balancing benefits of natural sunlight while protecting the health and resiliency of your skin all summer long! Be equipped when spending longer durations in the summer heat by choosing clean and non-toxic sunscreens, choosing whole foods over processed, prioritizing sleep and hydration, and managing stress. All the little things you choose to support your health really do go a long way!
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