What are some other nutritional tidbits for summer? Here’s one: A patient who comes into your office and leaves their sunglasses on has a very strong chance of experiencing adrenal exhaustion. To assess further, go into a dimly light room and shine a pen light in their eyes from a 45 degree angle to see how long it takes for their pupils to dilate. Healthy people should hold the constriction from the direct light for a full 20 seconds. If you see the pupils constrict after a few second, pulse, then open before the 20 mark, think adrenals.
Here’s another tip, one for people that sunburn easily. When you know you will be getting a lot of sun especially early in the season, increase
supplemental calcium and essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids or vitamin F pulls calcium into tissues; whereas, vitamin D pulls calcium into the blood and ultimately into bones. Also, too much sun will increase oxidation. So increasing antioxidants in food or supplemental form is suggested. Keep in mind, the skin is a major absorptive organ. Don’t put anything on your skin that you wouldn’t be willing to drink because our skin is in effect drinking all the lotions and potions that we put on. Our liver will ultimately have to break down all those chemicals we layer on trying to get that summer tan. Be aware, many of the moisturizers designed for after tanning are also chemical based. Instead after a days’ tanning, use a food grade EFA like the Mixed EFAs. Put it on after your shower instead of the chemical laden moisturizers. I also use it in the winter when the dry air from my furnace dries out my skin. It works great. Here’s another summertime fact I bet you didn’t know. One double blind study showed proteolytic enzymes will significantly reduce skin temperatures. My experience shows that the length of recovery time after a burn is drastically reduced. So if you do get too much sun. Take a therapeutic dose of Intenzyme on an empty stomach and you will be surprised how much better you feel the next day. Since hearing about the study I have used it many times as I work on my competitive tan.