While I take these supplements all year round, it is especially important when going out into the harsh African sun to put the right nutrients into your body to effectively help at protecting you from the sun. Naturally a good sunscreen is the number one factor in combating sun damage, but a good supplement regime can also keep your skin in awesome condition, prolong that bronze God/Goddess tan of yours and keep you healthier.
Obviously any illness and disease is caused by oxidants in your body, sort of like rust. So what you need is powerful anti oxidants to protect your cells from damage. This is important in the sun, where loads of free radicals can cause damage to your skin, and a decent supplement routine can really help protect you.
Here are three supplements I’d recommend (In addition to a SPF 30 cream):
This is a grape seed extract and is extremely powerful, it is a potent ant-oxidant that assists in keeping the body healthy and protecting it from environmental factors and damage. At around R100 per container it’s well priced and offers you excellent protection from free radical damage. This from the Procydin product page:
Generally known antioxidant nutrients are vitamins A, C and E, beta-carotene, and the minerals selenium, zinc, copper and manganese. A lesser-known but much more powerful antioxidant is the proanthocyanidin complex.
Proanthocyanidins, which belong to the bioflavonoid family, are found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains and in beverages such as tea and wine. However, the richest sources appear in pine bark and grape-seed extract, the main ingredient of PROCYDIN.
The proanthocyanidin complex is one of the most powerful antioxidants available today, and can play a significant role in strengthening the immune system and preventing a range of chronic diseases, including cancer. Its power is attributed to it being a mixture of several types of antioxidants that function effectively in different regions of the body.
The role of antioxidants is to protect cells and tissues from free radical damage, also called oxidative stress. Free radicals are toxic molecules produced by the body during metabolism such as eating and breathing, and can be described as the body’s own “exhaust fumes”. But they also penetrate us from outside, mostly via the skin, lungs or the intestinal tract, from sources such as air pollution, insecticides, cigarette smoke and substances that we consume.
Free-radical damage is a common factor in over a hundred autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, heart diseases, cancer, asthma, high blood pressure, stress, depression, high cholesterol and hardening of the artery walls, to mention a few.
So that’s a good one to take, I take it for most of the year.
Vitamin C is used in the synthesis of collagen and is also a powerful anti-oxidant, so important when you’re in the sun. While most will reccommend around 500mg per day, I take around 3-4 grams of Vitamin C per day. It is a very safe Vitamin to take and if you read Patrick Holford’s books you will know the importance of taking at least 2 grams a day. But shoot for 3-4 grams and you’ll basically be indestructible. Don’t buy the brand name Vitamin C, just ask your pharmacist for Ascorbic Acid. For around R30 you can get 100 x 500mg tablets.
I rotate these, so one day I’ll be taking a salmon oil supplement, another day I’ll be getting olive oil in my diet and so on and so forth. Two great fish oil supplements to take are Metagenics EPA/DHA 720 as well as ReVite Omega 3.
Follow the guidelines on the packages and you’re all good. Essential oils are so important for overall health and so many people hardly get any decent oils in their diets. It’s all sugar, bread, milk and when you look at it, they’re not getting nearly enough essential oils. Essential oils are excellent for your skin and in managing skin conditions, keeping the skin moist and supple, keeping you looking young and essential oils are sometimes seriously lacking in those suffering from depression and can help with brain functioning. An all round winner!
So those are three supplements that I recommend for this summer, speak to your pharmacist and see which particular one he/she recommends but those are all my personal choices.
And that is why I look so damn hot Hansel!
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