Get A Healthy Dose Of Sunshine

 

One of my favorite times of year is now…bright, sunny and beautifully warm Spring! The sun’s rays wake up the earth, encouraging plants to bloom and blossom and it’s hard to resist basking in those rays yourself. Getting a healthy dose of sunshine has great benefits, but there can always be too much of a good thing. The sun is a great source of Vitamin D, something most humans are deficient in. Vitamin D has been shown to prevent and/or improve many conditions such as Bone Health, Cancer (breast, colon, skin, prostate), Diabetes, Heart Disease, Fatigue, Depression and much more. A good healthy dose of life giving sun rays would be about 30-45 minutes of unprotected sun exposure, but try for mid-morning or late afternoon. Much more unprotected sun exposure can have damaging affects if you aren’t careful. Do you know how to naturally protect your skin from too much UV exposure? Well, let’s find out!

Avoid Harmful Sunscreens

While it may seem the easiest solution to protecting your skin from damaging UV rays is to slather on the sunscreen…things are actually more complicated than that. Most sunscreens contain scary chemicals including, but not limited to:

• Artificial preservatives
• Parabens
• P-aminobenzoic acid (PABA)
• Petrochemicals (Dioxybenzone, Menthyl anthranilate, Octocrylene, Sulisobenzone and many more. Don’t those names sound scary enough to avoid?)

Do you really want to slather on chemicals that are so easily soaked into your skin? After all, your skin is your body’s largest organ and is very absorbent… anything you put on your skin goes directly into your bloodstream, yikes! {If you want more information on just how scary these FDA approved sunscreens really are, I recommend reading EWG’s Skin Deep 2012 – Sunscreen Guide} I’ll pass on the OTC sunscreens, thank you!

Natural Sun Protection

So…how do you protect your skin without a store bought sunscreen? There are several things you can do to avoid and deflect the damaging UV rays, let’s take a look.

Doing these things will certain help prevent too much sun exposure, decreasing your chances of getting sunburns, sun poisoning, pre-mature aged skin, and exposure that could cause skin cancer.

Yummy Sun Protecting Recipes

Sunscreen Smoothie {This yummy, cool drink doubles as a natural, topical sunscreen. Save a little to apply to your skin then rinse it off about 30 minutes before heading outside. Remember what I said about your skin being a sponge? Well, it will soak up the SPF properties from the smoothie and help protect you skin better than just drinking it. But it can get messy, so do it in the bathroom or in a shaded area outside! 🙂 }

Place all ingredients into your blender and blend on high for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Sunscreen Body Oil {A great, simple recipe from the book “Organic Body Care Recipes” byStephanie Tourles}

Add all the ingredients to a storage container. The aloe vera juice is water-based and will separate out, so the formula must be vigorously shaken each time prior to use. No refrigeration is required if the product is used within three weeks. If refrigerated, the oil will keep for 4 – 6 months. It will thicken when chilled, but will liquefy when allowed to warm to room temperature. How to apply: Apply to body immediately before and repeatedly during sun exposure. The base oils won’t leave an oily film if massaged in thoroughly (unless too much is applied). // Well, I hope you enjoyed the natural tips for nourishing and protecting your skin! Remember to use good, common “sun” sense while you enjoy the warm weather, gardening and summer picnics. Do you use sunscreen? Why or why not? What do you use?