Save the Skin You're In!

While slathering my kids with sunscreen over this holiday weekend, I googled skin and here's what I came up with: diet, exercise and sun safety are all factors to consider when protecting the largest of the human body - the skin. According to the American Cancer Society, the best way to protest your skin from harmful ultraviolet rays is to limit your time in direct sunlight especially between 10 am and 4 pm. For those of us that live in Los Angeles, this isn't very practical. Here are some summer skin savers and some reminders for you and your kids:

Always wear sunscreen outdoors during the summer months, even if it's just a simple errand like going to the grocery store.

Choose a sunscreen that has a sun protection factor (spf) of 15 or higher. SPF corresponds to the amount of time you can spend in the sun w/o getting burned. An increase in SPF however, does NOT mean an increase in time allowed in the sun. Sunscreen needs to be applied regularly and consistently for it to remain effective over any length of time. It takes approx. 1 ounce of sunscreen to cover an entire adult. That's one fourth of a standard 4 ounce bottle.

Excercise regularly. Consistent exercise helps in the prevention of such diseases as cancer and it also benefits the skin's appearance by increasing blood circulation and delivering oxygen to your skin cells.

Good skin health occurs at the cell level as well. Experts recommend 3 - 4 servings of green vegetables per day which are high in antioxidant properties needed to help neutralize free radicals that are known to damage cells and tissues.