Protecting your skin in the sun: Tips, facts, and diet

NationalWorld.com

Spending time in the sun is one of the reasons many of us enjoy a summer holiday. Sensible sun exposure is a good way to top our vitamin D levels but too much can cause permanent damage. Sun burning, in particular, can cause premature aging, cataracts, wrinkles, solar skin damage and cancer.

Transcript

00:00Spending time in the sun for many people is part of the enjoyment of a summer holiday,

00:04and it certainly has some benefits in terms of topping up vitamin D levels.

00:08Too much sun however, particularly sun burning, can cause considerable damage to the skin

00:14where it becomes thin, blotchy, there's increased wrinkles and premature aging,

00:22particularly in exposed areas such as the head and the back of the hands as in these gentlemen.

00:26Of particular concern is the increased risk of skin cancer, the instance of which is increasing

00:34every year as we're getting more and more sun on our body with the availability of summer holidays,

00:39but sun burning as a teenager or young adult will increase the risk of the more serious type of

00:46skin cancer called melanoma, and the instance of this is also increasing by 140% each year.

00:53On a sunny day it would be particularly sensible not to sunbathe between 11 and 3 p.m. when the sun is more intense,

01:02but at other times it's more difficult to avoid the sun.

01:06Kids playing football in the garden, playing tennis or on the water such as windsurfing or sailing.

01:13So it's great to be outdoors, sport, football, tennis, but don't forget in the excitement of the game

01:20it's very easy to forget that you need to be protecting your skin at all times.

01:26Whilst playing sport it's easy to forget how much sun the skin is actually getting.

01:34Being on the water is particularly concerning as the sun is reflected on the surface onto the skin

01:40intensifying its effect. Also the cooling effect of the wind and the water makes you forget how much

01:47sun the skin is actually getting and it's much easier to burn.

01:51Although it seems obvious wearing a cap and sunglasses is particularly important because

01:57the head is an area which has had too much sun over the years. The trouble is a baseball cap

02:03will often miss parts of the face particularly under the cheeks, the back of the neck and the

02:08tip of the ears which gets a lot of sun if you just wear a baseball cap. Although maybe not as

02:14appealing it would be better to wear a wide rimmed hat which covers the ears and shades more of the

02:20face as in these two generally. Aim to use a suntan cream which is better than 25 SPF.

02:28Try to apply before you go into the sun and top up throughout the day. Ideally it's important to

02:35supervise and encourage kids to put suntan cream on themselves particularly making sure there's

02:44back of the neck and the ears are covered. I like many other people do have some concerns of

02:51the amount of preservatives, perfumes, parabens and colours which are present in many suntan creams.

02:59Though less well known and perhaps a little bit more expensive there are independent companies

03:05now who are making plant-based suntan creams with essential oils which are much kinder to the skin.

03:12For example the Ocean brand which is also environmentally friendly. After a day in the sun

03:20particularly if you've sunburned it's important to apply a good quality after sun cream particularly

03:27those which contain olive oil. Olive oil has previously been shown to improve DNA repair

03:34and reduce the risk of premature aging and skin cancer. The diet and lifestyle we choose to do

03:42can also influence whether the sun exposure will lead to premature aging and cancer.

03:50Certain lifestyle habits can actually intensify the damage from the sun to the skin particularly

03:56smoking. The toxins within cigarette smoke increase inflammation and increase DNA damage

04:04resulting in a higher chance of getting premature aging and cancer.

04:09Some dietary factors can intensify the risk of sun damage by increasing inflammation and

04:16oxidative stress in the body and these would include foods such as processed meat and high

04:23amounts of processed sugar. On the other hand certain lifestyle factors can reduce the risk

04:29of sun damage by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress and these would include taking

04:34regular exercise and particularly eating foods which are rich in natural phytochemicals. So

04:40foods which have a lot of colour, taste and aroma largely from healthy plants such as fruit,

04:48vegetables, herbs and spices. Even the phytochemicals within a nice glass of red

04:55wine or a dark chocolate have been shown to have skin protective properties.

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