Eat Great to Hydrate

As glorious as summer can be, it can also be hard on your skin. Not only do you need to protect yourself against sunburn, but the risk of dehydration is higher in this hot weather. And like the rest of your body, your skin needs sufficient hydration to stay healthy.

Staying Hydrated, the Fruit and Veggie WayDrinking an adequate amount of water is the common-sense approach to avoiding dehydration, but did you know eating certain fruits and vegetables can also count toward your daily water needs? Actually, roughly 20% of our water intake is from foods. In the summer months, make sure to eat a lot of these hydrating fruits and veggies:

• Zucchini is 96% water. This member of the squash family is the best source of dietary fiber, which will have you feeling full for longer. Shake up your salad and try this refreshing zucchini salad with pine nuts!
• Tomatoes are 94% water. These Eggs Florentine in tomato cups are perfect for those perfectly ripe farmer’s market tomatoes you can only find this time of year. This recipe contains a healthy serving of spinach as well! Take note that grilling tomatoes will reduce the water content, but still offer a hydrating amount!
• Watermelon and strawberries are 92% water. If you need an incentive to drink more, these tasty strawberry-watermelon coolers should do the trick! You can probably omit the sugar, as both these fruits are plenty sweet.

Getting your D, While Blocking the SunFor most people, sun block is the first line of defense against sunburn and damaging UV-exposure. But sunblock (and other methods of avoiding excess sun exposure, such as staying in the shade or wearing long sleeves and long pants) can reduce your body’s production of vitamin D, which is crucial for bone health, immunity, cardiovascular health, and ironically, skin health.
Not many fruits and vegetables contain vitamin D, but there is one exception: mushrooms. Even so, they don’t have much. One cup of sliced, raw, white button mushrooms has 3% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin D. However, you can dramatically boost the vitamin D content of mushrooms by exposing them to sunlight. That’s right, just like your skin, mushrooms can make vitamin D from the sun!
How do you ensure you’re keeping your skin healthy?