By Andrea Bartels CNP NNCP RNT 05 Jul 2024 |
Taking care of your skin during summer months requires more than sun avoidance and “surface treatment”. While it’s well known that more time outdoors under higher intensity UV radiation is damaging to the skin and leads to photoaging when precautions are not applied, the role that nutrients play in skin maintenance is less familiar to most of us. Sure, quality lotions and creams can temporarily preserve moisture and sun blocking creams filter out harmful UV rays, but they cannot fulfill the role of nutrients. The recipe for total skin health must include the ingestion of vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients—the building blocks of skin tissue and its functions. Let’s take a fresh look at protecting summer-exposed skin.
Photoaging is the premature aging of the skin that happens through repeated ultraviolet radiation (UV) exposure. Skin is an active organ, with cells replacing themselves every 30 days in young adults, with the process slowing down to about every 45 days in older individuals. This means that the older we get, the longer it takes for skin to repair itself after being injured—be it from scrapes, infections, sun exposure, extreme temperatures, or prolonged swimming.
Have you ever noticed that it’s easier to get a sunburn while in the water than outside of it? Don’t be fooled by the coolness of the water while you’re swimming; it can make you believe your skin isn’t burning. Sun reflects off a body of water, making its rays more intense, increasing our risk of sunburn. Plus, spending a long period of time in water---especially warm, hot (think jacuzzi), salty or chlorinated water---strips oils from the epidermis, the top layer of skin. This removes skin’s protective, moisturizing abilities. The result can be dry, flaky, tight, red and itchy skin that is now more prone sunburn as well as to irritation and infections because its natural function as a barrier to external chemicals or bacteria has been disrupted.
Good habits such as wearing sunscreen, donning cover-ups while in or near water, using a moisturizer immediately after swimming, staying well-hydrated and keeping out of the sun during its high-intensity period of 10 am and 4 pm are critical for protecting your skin. After all, although it’s an inconvenient truth there is no such thing as a healthy tan.
Healthy Skin Begins on the Inside
Topical applications of creams, lotions, butters, and salves certainly can temporarily help restore moisture to the epidermis---but the health of the deepest and thickest layer of the skin, the dermis, is dependent upon good blood circulation and delivery of oxygen, water and nutrients. Let’s look at how certain essential nutrients support healthy skin and what other lifestyle tips can protect it. But first, to be clear: no nutrient has been proven to prevent sunburn. Whether you’re swimming, walking, or lounging on the beach, extra care is needed to protect your skin.
Zinc: Did you know that the mineral zinc is essential to produce vitamin A (retinol)? Retinol is vital to the keratinization of the skin, as well as wound healing. Zinc is important because most of our dietary intake of ‘vitamin A’ is in the form of beta-carotene--- not retinol. Although beta carotene has value as an antioxidant, it’s unable to directly serve the role of retinol in our bodies. That’s why sufficient intake of zinc is important—to convert dietary beta carotene into retinol—a critical nutrient for our skin. Why not just take a supplementary source of retinol, then? Since retinol is fat-soluble, it is retained in the body for long periods of time, making it potentially toxic at higher supplementary intake levels. Taking a high quality zinc supplement, such as Pure Lab’s Zinc Glycinate is a safer option.
Copper
The other side of the coin is copper---a mineral that is needed for 2 skin-vital functions.
First, it’s known that high exposure to free radicals from toxins and UV light are associated with skin aging and skin cancer development. Fortunately, our bodies can make superoxide dismutase (SOD), an important enzyme produced from the body using copper and other nutrients in the fight against free radicals. Specifically, SOD protects keratinocytes from sun damage. Like all antioxidants, SOD protects tissues from cellular damage from toxins. If you’ve been mega-dosing zinc without copper for the past few years, it may be time to increase your copper intake.
The other role of copper in the skin is the production and stabilization of skin proteins like collagen and elastin. It’s collagen that gives healthy, youthful skin its plumpness. Collagen creates strength and structure, while elastin provides elasticity and resilience properties in skin. Pure Lab’s Copper Glycinate provides a readily absorbed form of copper in a 1-milligram capsule, for flexible, customizable dosing.
Vitamin C
The other nutrient that serves both antioxidant and collagen support functions is Vitamin C. Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid is important to both the dermis and the epidermis. Although it’s an antioxidant itself, vitamin C enhances the antioxidant work of vitamin E within the lipid layer of the skin.
Vitamin C is also important to the production of collagen and elastin. Remember, collagen and elastin keep skin strong and flexible. UVA radiation is known to harm not just our epidermal cells, but also the collagen and elastin within the dermis, thereby affecting the structure and appearance of our skin. But since vitamin C is a water-soluble nutrient, it gets eliminated from the body within hours of ingestion. That’s why taking supplementary vitamin C a couple of times per day is a good idea for most individuals looking to enhance their collagen production. Using a slow-release product such as Pure Lab’s Slow Release Vitamin C is an easy way to maintain tissue vitamin C levels.
You may ask: why not just take a collagen supplement to support the skin? Collagen is a protein that depends on complete digestion in order to reap its full benefits. For those individuals taking medications for acid reflux, these drugs may compromise the digestion and absorption of protein and minerals.
The other consideration is that for collagen to do its job, it needs to be put into an environment that supports tissue rebuilding. In an overly acidic body, tissues corrode and rebuilding is often ineffective because acidic waste products of the body can damage the tissues. In situations of insufficient hydration coupled with high intake of nutrient-lacking processed foods, the body has no choice but to ‘dump’ acids into the joints, muscles and skin. In the skin this can manifest as swelling, redness, or itching as tissues are being ‘burned’ by acids if there isn’t adequate support to eliminate them.
Water is a good acid neutralizer, but it’s not as effective as water combined with alkaline minerals. If you’re not getting enough minerals from your diet because of inconsistent consumption of whole foods, then you may be missing critical skin-hydrating nutrients.
Sodium, potassium and magnesium are alkaline minerals that help counteract acidity in the tissues, an act that supports proper hydration of the skin and sets the stage for healthy collagen production. A pH-balancing formula like Pure Lab’s Alkapure pH can be taken between meals twice daily to provide the skin with moisture-balancing electrolytes that are depleted by sweating and dehydration while creating an environment that’s conducive to the body’s skin repair processes.
So, what’s the recipe for healthy skin? A diet rich in antioxidant-containing fruits and vegetables, quality protein and nutritious oils such as raw (unheated) olive oil is well complemented by supplementary zinc, copper, vitamin C and acid-buffering minerals. Paired these with sensible lifestyle habits and you’ll be well prepared to enjoy the outdoors this summer and beyond.
References
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Dr. Numb. “Why Is It Easy to Get a Sunburn While Swimming: 7 Reasons and 7 Safety Tips.” Updated June 17 2024; accessed online June 24 2024.
Fang Y, Li Z, Yang L, et al. Emerging roles of lactate in acute and chronic inflammation. Cell Commun Signal. 2024;22(1):276. Published 2024 May 16.
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