Posted on July 7, 2021
| 6:28 p.m.
Keep yourself hydrated this summer with these healthy hydration and skin care tips from Lazy Acres Natural Market! (Lazy Acres photo.)
Summertime means sunshine and salty water… but did you know that it’s also the season of hydrating?
One of the most underrated wellness habits we can practice is one of the most simple. It starts with water… but it doesn’t involve going to a beach or pool or medi spa. It’s simply… hydrating!
Staying well hydrated is essential throughout the year, but particularly important in the summer months when the weather gets hotter, you’re sweating more, and you’re more active.
Proper hydration brings us so many health benefits.
Drinking water does many wonderful things for our bodies. It:
Regulates body temperature
Lubricates joints
Delivers nutrients to cells
Keeps organs functioning properly
Supports our immune system
Fights off infections
Dehydration can lead to fatigue, poor skin conditions, headaches, muscle cramps, and low blood pressure, among other symptoms.
Hydration leads to improved energy levels, cognition, mood, digestion, and detoxification.
The best summer beauty tip? Drink more water!
Drinking plenty of water is a must but here are a few more ways you can maximize your water intake to reap the benefits of increased hydration.
Eat water rich foods
One of the best things you can do to increase not only your hydration levels, but your nutrient intake, too, is eating water rich food. Think cucumber, celery, zucchini, watermelon, oranges, cantaloupe, lettuce, and soups.
Add Electrolytes
Electrolytes include minerals like sodium, potassium, and magnesium. If you are working out or sweating a lot, it may benefit you to add additional electrolytes to your drinking water. Electrolytes help the water you drink infiltrate your cells more efficiently.
Sunscreen
While staying hydrated is a key to summer wellness, you can’t forget to take proper steps to keep your skin protected.
According to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) only 14% of men and 30% of women regularly apply sunscreen to their faces and other exposed skin before going outdoors for more than an hour.
Opt for a mineral sunscreen, with Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide as the active ingredients. These mineral sunscreens form a barrier on the surface of your skin that helps reflect UV rays away from the skin. They’re ideal for daily and prolonged use because they offer broad spectrum protection against UV and UVB rays. Plus, they are coral reef safe!
Accessorize
Protect your skin by covering as much of it as possible by using hats, sunglasses, and long sleeves whenever possible. You can be sun conscious and stylish at the same time.
Supplement
You can protect your skin from the inside, too! Astaxanthin is an antioxidant that may help reduce skin damage caused by the sun, as well as improving wrinkles.
As we all take steps to improve our health and to live well, we inspire others and give them permission to do the same. Living Healthy improves our lives on a micro level and also helps us begin to contribute to the improvement of our environment, our communities, and our world in ways we can’t always imagine.
