Top Pick Nutrients to Maintain Glowing Summer Skin

Hot days and summer activities don’t have to wreak havoc on your skin. Keep your skin summer-ready with these natural nutrients to maintain your summer glow.

By Nina Sabat 

Summary

• First nourish and protect your skin – the key nutrients that matter most
• Beware of activities that steal your skin’s summer glow – BBQs, UV rays and sleepless nights
• Takeaway – glowing summer skin starts here

How to Maintain Glowing Summer Skin

A common challenge of summer is that the activities you love doing don’t make you feel that confident in yourself. Summer arrives and you start off slightly sun-kissed ­— all radiant and glowy. But then things take a downward turn.

Too much sun and your skin’s dehydrated and sunburned. Too much heat and sweating and you get heat rash and skin irritations. Too much snack food, alcohol or ice creams and you have break outs. Too many late nights and panda-eyes loom.

Suddenly, summer doesn’t feel so carefree at all.

It’s said that your eyes are a window to your soul, allowing a glimpse of what lies within. It seems your skin is a little less poetic and more practical - a canvas/reflection of the internal and external challenges you currently face. So how do you keep the image unrippled and your skin a picture of health when the temperatures rise? 

For ultimate summer skin health, the goal is to hydrate, moisturise and maintain skin cell integrity. You want to bolster your defences from external challenges from the sun’s UV rays and the environment. You want to add a layer of protection and minimise the impact of internal challenges from any anti-nutrients you eat.

To achieve this, look to key nutrients including collagen, plant-based antioxidants, omega fatty acids, hyaluronic acid, and water. Buy them separately or in a premium product that supplies them all, such as Revital Active Protein Blend. 

First Nourish and Protect Your Skin

How should you decide which nutrients to focus on to maintain healthy glowing skin all summer long? If you consider the tasks on your skin’s to-do-list, it will make it easier to decide.

Skin provides protection, defence, makes vitamins and more…

Your skin is your largest organ, comprised of multiple layers of cells. Here are some of the day-to-day functions your skin is responsible for.

• A major role of skin is as a protective barrier – against heat, physical or mechanical injury; from hazardous substances; from the harmful effects of UV rays.
• Your skin also has a conservation role – it prevents loss of moisture and regulates your temperature.
• As an immune organ it detects infections and keeps unwanted organisms out.
• As part of your senses skin allows you to perceive touch and heat.
• And of course, you remember it’s an essential element for creating your body’s store of vitamin D.

With many roles, including protection, immunity, heat regulation and vitamin synthesis, your skin cells are extremely active. Consequently, a selection of essential nutrients is needed for optimal skin health. 

Key nutrients help keep your skin healthy and radiant…

Typically, the foods you eat provide the nutrients your skin cells need to grow, repair and remain active. Key nutrients include:

• Collagen – an amino acid from protein that creates the structural foundation of healthy skin
• Plant-based antioxidants ­– molecules that stay busy either mopping up the damaging oxidants produced by highly active cells or reactivating other spent antioxidants, so they become effective again
• Omega fatty acids – building blocks inserted into the cell membrane of all skin cells, keeping them flexible and smooth
• Hyaluronic acid – working side by side with collagen, hyaluronic acid supports anti-ageing and anti-wrinkle goals through its moisturising and plumping effect on the skin
• Water – for hydration. Simples!

The nutrients which help keep your skin glowing with health are closely related to the role the skin plays. Collagen, antioxidants, omega oils, hyaluronic acid and plenty of water are essential nutrients that keep your skin’s highly active cells in peak condition. These are some of the best nutrients to nourish your skin.

A complete blend of protein powder, enriched with cacao, turmeric, chlorella, flaxseed powder and hyaluronic acid, Revital Active Protein Blend provides collagen, antioxidants, omegas and hyaluronic acid together in one easy-to-mix drink. 

Sleep and clothing help protect your skin too…

Looking beyond nutrients there are other ways to protect your skin and keep it healthy. 

The sleep hormone, melatonin, naturally comes to mind. While melatonin is the hormone that regulates your sleep, it’s also a potent antioxidant which helps keep more active cells in better health. Plus, the clothes you wear offer an extra layer protection, from the sun and pollutants alike.

Along with essential nutrients like collagen, hyaluronic acid, and plant-based antioxidants, getting plenty of rest and good quality sleep helps enhance your skin’s natural radiance and summer glow.

Beware of Activities That Steal Your Skin’s Summer Glow

So, what is it about summer and the hotter temperatures that diminishes your healthy glow? It may come as a surprise to learn that as your eating habits, exercise routine and lifestyle change in summer, you can unbalance the mechanisms which naturally protect your skin.

Why barbeques, soda and alcohol advance skin ageing

You may find yourself eating much more meat and snack food when it’s warm.

A sunny weekend is the perfect time to fire up the barbeque. There may be a salad or two, slowly wilting in the sun, but more often at BBQs you eat MEAT!! Is our mouth already watering at the thought of charcoal-grilled sausages, steaks, burgers, drumsticks and fish?

Unfortunately, if you’re eating charred meats coated in sticky BBQ sauces and washing them down with a soda or beer (or four!) you’ll be increasing your intake of sugar. High sugar diets create peaks in insulin and general inflammation. Refined carbs also create a surplus of AGEs (advanced glycation end products) – these damaged molecules get ‘stuck’ in your cells, and also cause your skin to wrinkle and age. [1]

If addition, if you favour meat and fish and only occasionally eat a handful of fresh veg and fruit, your intake of the antioxidants your skin needs could be unexpectedly low.

Another concern over charred foods is their level of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These potentially carcinogenic compounds are concentrated when food is smoked, dried or cooked.

In one study on the bioavailability of PAHs, cuts of chicken and steak were cooked and then put to the test. Researchers found that the higher the degree of doneness and the fattier the cut of meat, the greater the rate of absorption of PAHs from the test subjects’ stomachs. [2]

The number of PAHs produced in food depends on several criteria, which include the cooking time, distance from heat, drainage of fat, type of fuel, and type of cooking method. Food cooked slowly, over charcoal and close to the heat source (as happens when foods are barbequed) increases the number of PAHs.[3]

How UV rays and environmental pollutants cause skin ageing

Summer also offers more opportunity to spend time outside.

Sunbathing, going for a run, or heading off for long walks at the weekend are appealing and can raise your spirits. However, these activities also increase your exposure to UV light, environmental and chemical pollutants that can irritate or damage your skin.

Over time, UV rays and harsh pollutants contribute to increased oxidative stress within the skin cells. Photoaging contributes to the cell damage that underlies ageing and increases skin cancer risk. [1] 

Why lost sleep causes stress and ages your skin

What if light summer nights release your inner night owl or you tend to stay up late as your diary’s packed with social events?

It might seem old hat to talk of ‘getting your beauty sleep’ but sleep does help rejuvenate your body and cells. In a sleep-deprived state people may be perceived as more fatigued and less healthy. In their study of sleepers who were physically healthy, poor quality sleep did increase skin ageing. Measures of both intrinsic and extrinsic ageing were significantly greater in poor sleepers who got less than 5 hours each night when compared with those who enjoyed 7 – 9 hours of good quality, restorative sleep. [4] 

Takeaway - Glowing Summer Skin Starts Here

Despite your best intentions, the hot summer months can quickly take their toll on your skin. Late nights, barbequed meats, and increased exposure to sun and environmental pollutants, can all pile on the challenges that promote internal and external skin ageing in the short-term.

 It’s simple to counteract these effects by focusing on the essential nutrients which keep your skin cells in optimal health. A high-quality supplement can help hydrate, moisturise and protect your skin. A nutritious blend of protein (think collagen), cacao, turmeric and chlorella (think antioxidants), flaxseed powder (think omegas) and hyaluronic acid, Revital’s Active Protein Blend make the perfect choice to keep your healthy skin glowing all summer long. 

References

[1] Gabriel et al, 2017 Perceived age and life-style. The specific contributions of seven factors involved in health and beauty

[2] Hamidi et al, 2022 Bioaccessibility of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in grilled meat: The effects of meat doneness and fat content

[3] Mallah et al, 2022 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and its effects on human health: An overeview

About Nina

Nina Sabat is a Registered Nutritional Therapist and a nutrition and wellness consultant for Revital. She is focused on improving everyday wellbeing and loves exploring Revital’s extensive supplement range with clients and customers, helping them find the ideal solution for their current needs.