SUNBURNS AND AGING

It's vacation time for most of us around the world. Who wants to think about applying their sunscreen with UVA protection (the one that matters the most) every two hours??? Many times we wait for a sunburn to signal it's time to get out of the sun.

Hey, what harm is a little sunburn. We get a little red, sometimes peel and then it goes away. What most people don't realize is the second our skin gets burned, our DNA has changed (how our cells function) FOREVER!

This DNA damage from the sun weakens the function of the cell. As things slow down as we age they make us prone to cellular imbalances or disfunction. Some like to call this cancer. Check out this great article that gives more details about what scientists discovered about cancer, aging and the sun HERE.

I have listed a few unconventional methods I have mentioned before that one can do outside of sunblock to help prevent this cellular damage.


TOPICALLY

1. Hydrate
Make sure your skin is always hydrated. Shea butter is a great method of hydration. The more elastic the cells and collagen are the more likely

2. Vitamin C
Using products that contain vitamin C for both the face and body help provide protection from free radicals. Free radicals are unpaired electrons, which is another way of saying high potential for cancer. Just make sure your product says vitamin C+E. The E stabilizes the C. Otherwise the product will degrade too quickly.

3. Oatmeal/Honey
Honey is a humectant, which means to bring water to the skin. It is also an antibacterial that leaves the skin ultra soft. Honey contains beta glucans, which helps keep the glue/skin/stretch going on in the skin. A honey oatmeal mask on the face and/or the body helps to strengthen the cells. Check out my oatmeal honey mask video HERE.

4. Green/Black Tea
Topically green and black tea can act as a shield for the cells in the battle against sun damage and aging. Fresh has a daily serum that seems to get raves. Remember, it won't work if you don't use it!



INTERNALLY

1. Astaxanthin
When I know I'm about to hit some intense sun I make sure I take plenty of Astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is the red algae salmon eat to give them their strength and pink color. Farm raised salmon does not have the pink. They actually die the meat to make it look like wild salmon!
The best company is Nutrex. They are purer than organic!


2. Green/Black/Red Tea
Actually Guayusa Tea has some of the highest antioxidants, which also help to strengthen the cell. Runa is our favorite brand! The Cinnamon Spice is divine!


Don't have time for tea? Try these organic tea pearls. It's a cup of tea in every pearl!

3. Whole Foods
Eating a nutritionally sound diet free of sugars, processed foods, chemicals and hormones increases your chances of keeping your cells strong. Choosing foods that are also rich in color on a daily basis, not when you remember to think about it will also help insure cellular stability. Don't have time to munch on your fruits and veggies? Juice!

As always I can't emphasize using SUNBLOCK, not SUNSCREEN EVERY TWO HOURS as an insurance policy.