5 Ways to Take Care of Your Skin This Summer

The increased outdoor activities, the heat and the sun exposure can all contribute to a whole host of summer-related skin problems including but not limited to sun damaged, dry, flaky and irritated skin. Therefore, you need the following 5 simple skin care tips to up your game and keep you glowing throughout the summer.

We all love summer; it is a season filled with fun leisure activities and fresh seasonal food. Summer is also the season of skin because our skin is exposed more to the air which requires us to take extra care of it.

1. Ditch Acid for Alkaline

Excess acid found in foods like cheese, meat, eggs, and sugars can lower your immune resistance and make your skin prone to inflammation. People with acid overload may be more likely to get sunburns, acne, eczema, and premature skin aging.

Healthy Skin Tip: Avoid acid and raise your pH by eating alkaline foods like cucumber, wheatgrass, sweet potatoes, kale, and broccoli. You can also make alkaline drinks by juicing cucumber and lemon. Lemon while commonly confused as being an acidic fruit, is actually alkaline in the body. If you are interested in the topic of body pH and alkaline foods, learn more about it from here.

2. Move Often

Now that the weather is warming up, get out and get active. Activity increases your oxygen intake, circulates nutrients, and reduces stress. It also helps the body to detox, assisting the body to breathe, stretch, and sweat which may improve the health and appearance of your skin, as toxin build-up in our bodies often manifests in breakouts and clogged pores.

Healthy Skin Tip: Take a friend or family member when doing exercise – the company makes everything even better. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water and get your sweat on to help your body release unwanted toxins fats and waste.

3. Drink More Water

Don't take water for granted, keeping your body hydrated is very important. Our skin stores a lot of water, and there are a variety of structures in the skin that require water to work effectively - including the structures that support collagen. However, other parts of the human body also need efficient amounts of water to function well, and when we are dehydrated, the skin is usually the first area to suffer. This may lead to dry skin, enlarged pores, a less supple appearance, and fine lines or wrinkles.

Healthy Skin Tip: Pack a water bottle with you and constantly hydrate your body throughout the day, if you are doing exercise, give your body extra water to balance the water you lose from sweating. If plain water isn't your favorite, try adding some fun flavors to your water. Lemon, cucumber, or mint are great choices, and you can even add our Zupafood products to make drinking water more exciting.

4. Eat to Nourish

Nature has provided us with many different foods to help give our skin that beautiful glow. Increase your consumption of fatty acids, antioxidants and cleansing foods in the lead up to summer for clear, smooth and hydrated skin.

Fatty acids:	Antioxidants:	Cleansing Foods:
Avocados Olive Oil Coconut oil Walnuts Salmon Fish oil	Berries Green Tea Artichokes Brightly colored vegetables Dark chocolate	Lemon Ginger Garlic Raw fruits Dark leafy greens

Healthy Skin Tip: Antioxidant supplements and foods are important to help your skin resist damage. There are a couple of super antioxidants used in our product range which may be helpful for you. These antioxidants include: New Zealand Grapeseed Extract in Skin-Support and Astaxanthin and Lycopene in our Omega-3 Premium Fish Oil which are recommended to help support skin health.

5. Top Up with Collagen!

Collagen comprises one-third of the total protein structure of the skin and accounts for three-quarters of its dry weight. Without the structural support of collagen, blood vessels, tendons, and the skin can become more fragile (Ref.2). As we age, our body’s ability to produce collagen is also diminished, and the skin will become lack lustre, dull and sallow. Therefore, collagen is a very important factor in skin health.

Healthy Skin Tip:Boost your body’s collagen storage with Collactive™ Marine Collagen in Skin-Support and Zupafood for Skin, it is clinically proven to promote the production of collagen and significantly reduce wrinkle depth. Our premium blend of deep-sea fish-sourced collagen helps to replenish lost collagen and elastin, providing superior moisturising effects for smoother and more radiant skin. It makes a perfect addition to your summer beauty regime.

Do you have a particular pre-summer skincare regime? We would love to hear your tips. Please feel free to post them in the comments section below.

In good health.