Summer is just around the corner, which means we may need to adjust our supplement routines a little. As the temperature rises and we put our bodies under more stress, the added humidity and strain take a toll on our skin.1
During the hot months of summer, our skin is exposed to more ultraviolet rays than at any other time of year. Spending more time in the sun increases our chances of wrinkles, brown spots, and sun damage, making us look older than we feel. More importantly, the long-term effects of sun damage can negatively impact your health.2
As if that wasn’t enough, the high temps can also leave you dehydrated. Dehydrated skin can be dry and itchy. Fine lines become more noticeable and your skin may appear more dull and uneven.
Taking supplements during the summer helps your body function optimally and provides your skin with the nutrients it needs to protect itself. Combined with a healthy diet and sunblock, the essential vitamins discussed in this post can protect and repair your skin during hot-weather months.
Let’s explore why antioxidants are so essential for healthy skin and some ways you can boost your skin’s health this summer. And after make sure to read our previous blog post, “6 Ways to Protect Your Skin from Sun Damage This Summer” to achieve the healthiest skin you can have this year.
Why Antioxidants Are Essential for Summer Skincare
Antioxidants consist of enzymes, vitamins, and minerals that neutralize free radicals, essentially acting as a natural “off” switch. Left alone, free radicals could cause serious harm to our bodies. Because they are also used to fight infections, our bodies must maintain a balance of free radicals and antioxidants.3
Antioxidants play a vital role in “reversing the clock” on aging. They have been linked with anti-aging because they help minimize the typical signs of aging like fine lines and wrinkles. Antioxidants increase blood flow, which stimulates skin cell regeneration, preventing many skin issues from developing.
Adding Antioxidants to Your Summer Skincare Regimen
Our body naturally produces antioxidants to fight off viruses. On a regular basis, however, we are assaulted by tobacco smoke, pollution, alcohol, and other oxidizing agents that wreak havoc on our skin. This means we need to find other ways to increase our intake of these safe-keepers to protect our health.4
Adding antioxidants into your summer skincare routine can help address dark spots, breakouts, and hyper-pigmentation. There are several methods to increase your antioxidant intake, including:
- Add Antioxidants to Your Diet
- Use Antioxidant-Rich Skincare Products
- Use Products Infused Ingredients that are Antioxidant-Rich
- Take Antioxidant-Rich Supplements
Any of these can help protect your skin this summer from harsh ultraviolet rays since it’s just as important to eat antioxidants as it is to apply them to your skin.
Best Summertime Antioxidants for Healthier Skin
When it comes to antioxidants, you can’t have too much of this good stuff – especially during the summer months. Here are four powerful vitamins you can supplement with that will keep your skin looking and feeling healthy this summer. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.
Vitamin C
The more time we spend outside, the more we’re exposed to pollutants and allergens. Summer travel also leaves us susceptible to germs, which can lead to summer colds and flu-like symptoms. Vitamin C is one of the best summertime supplements you can take because it has a major impact on your body, and is a vital element for skin health.5
Air pollutants and ultraviolet light are common sources of free radicals that can slow you down from enjoying your summer to the fullest. Vitamin C helps you fight off free radicals and acts as a natural antihistamine, easing symptoms of seasonal allergies. This multipurpose vitamin also helps your body manage heat better, protecting you from heat strokes and rashes.
Known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C helps your body enhance collagen production in the skin and use collagen more efficiently throughout your body. Collagen is a powerful protein that is a major component of your skin and is crucial to joint health. Vitamin C stimulates collagen synthesis, preventing UV-induced photodamage.
Vitamin C is loaded with antioxidants, which are useful for supporting immune function and preventing or treating sunburn. These antioxidants combat UV damage from the inside out, helping cells recover from any kind of damage. From sunburns to cutting your foot at the beach, vitamin C can help you heal faster.
Other amazing benefits of supplementing with vitamin C include improving brain function and cardiovascular health and reducing the risk of gout flare-ups and respiratory infections. Since vitamin C is naturally present in many foods (i.e. oranges, grapefruits, broccoli, berries, and tomatoes) and fruit juices, many of us get enough of this vitamin already.
If you’re worried your vitamin C levels are diminished, or you’re preparing for travel, you might think about ramping up your intake with supplements or multivitamins.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A provides many benefits, including helping form and maintain healthy skin, teeth, skeletal and soft tissue, and mucous membranes. It also plays a pretty significant role in cell growth, healthy vision, and the immune system. Of course, we are most concerned with how it benefits the skin.6
It’s important to boost the health of our skin since much of our time is spent outside during the summer. Another antioxidant, Vitamin A, provides benefits to both the upper and lower layers of our skin. This antioxidant protects against sunburn and sun damage by binding to receptors in your skin cells, which strengthens the epidermis.
Studies have shown that supplementing with vitamin A can help repair skin that has already been damaged from the sun and reduce the risk of skin cancer. More specifically, the research found that retinol (aka vitamin A) can help protect us from melanomas – the most dangerous form of skin cancer.
Most of us get enough vitamin A from what we eat. If you’re not getting enough from your diet, it might be time to consider supplements. Dark green leafy veggies, carrots, yellow peppers, and sweet potatoes are the most common sources of vitamin A. You can also eat kale, kiwi fruit, and strawberries for similar benefits.
Vitamin A offers even more advantages due to its antioxidant properties. Supplementing with it can support your organ function and immune system during the hotter months. Although vitamin A deficiency may be rare, ensuring that you’re getting enough vitamin A will help your skin become more tolerable to harmful ultraviolet rays.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E protects our skin from sun damage, prevents premature aging, and reduces skin inflammation. This dynamic nutrient can also replenish your collagen production, which is important for maintaining skin elasticity and encouraging skin renewal. There isn’t a nutrient that does more to slow the aging process than vitamin E.
For all the ways getting too much sun exposure can be harmful to your skin and overall health, vitamin E can help. Vitamin E provides your skin with the antioxidants it needs to heal faster from sunburn and rid your body of impurities. It also acts as a natural sunscreen for your skin, protecting it from over-exposure to harmful sun rays.
By helping to balance your hormones, vitamin E makes it easier for you to maintain a healthy weight, reduce anxiety, fight allergies, and combat fatigue. Other benefits of supplementing with vitamin E include being able to increase physical endurance and muscle strength and helping many of your organs function properly.
Several foods naturally contain vitamin E and it’s added to even more. Try increasing your intake of nuts, lean meat, lamb, oily fish, tofu, beef, and spinach to add more vitamin E into your diet.
If you aren’t getting enough vitamin E from your diet, you may want to consider supplementing with this essential vitamin. If you want to feel and look incredible this summer, give your skin exactly what it needs to stay healthy during the hot, dry months and boost your vitamin E.
Vitamin D
We may know it as “the sunshine vitamin,” but we don’t get all that we need just by laying out in the sun. This means it’s still a good idea to take vitamin D in the summer months. One particular study revealed that people are just as likely to experience vitamin D deficiency in the summer as in the winter.
Vitamin D from the sun can be a powerful anti-inflammatory in the right dose. It can also help support hormone health. Even though the sun helps our bodies make this potent nutrient, exposing our skin to the right amount of sun depends on our skin type and our body’s vitamin D absorption rate.7
Sun-generated vitamin D isn’t dispersed equally either, as you might believe. Many factors contribute to the effectiveness of your sun exposure, including air pollution, geographic location, time of day, age, skin color, and sunscreen use.
You may also be under the impression that by increasing your outdoor time, you can get enough of this essential nutrient. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Wearing sunscreen does more than protect your skin from sunburn, it also blocks the rays that deliver vitamin D to your body.
Vitamin D doesn’t occur naturally in many foods, unlike the other vitamins in this article. Fish, eggs, fortified dairy, and some cereal products are substantial sources of vitamin D3.
The bottom line is this: your vitamin D intake is just as important when the days are long as it is when the days are shorter. Supplementing with vitamin D, eating vitamin-rich foods, and getting 15-20 minutes of sunshine a day can increase your calcium absorption, as well as benefit your bone health, mood, and immune system.
Why Take a Multivitamin?
Regardless of the season, you should always consider incorporating a well-rounded multivitamin that contains antioxidants, minerals, electrolytes, and minerals to protect your skin and overall health all year long. Multivitamins help support your general well-being, but the key is to look for one that has a formula targeted to meet your goals.
The primary role of a multivitamin is to replace any nutrient deficiencies you may have. Some research says the best way to get the nutrients and minerals we need is through our diet.
For many of us, summer brings added chaos to our lives, making it difficult to stick to a balanced diet. In those cases, a multivitamin acts as a daily guarantee that your body is getting the vitamins and minerals it needs.
One product that we recommend is Phyto350® from Skinception. This plant-derived supplement allows you to replenish your skin with ceramides that occur naturally in human skin, but decrease with age.
The clinically proven formula rejuvenates your appearance from the inside out. By repairing damaged skin and reducing fine lines and wrinkles, Phyto350® provides a natural facelift effect with anti-aging benefits.
While it may not be considered a multivitamin, Phyto350® contains all four of the vitamins you now know are crucial for optimal skin health in optimal dosages. It also contains phytoceramides (plant-derived fatty acids that help reduce fine lines and wrinkles), which are absorbed into your bloodstream where they help rebuild damaged skin.
Why Do You Need These Vitamins During Summer Months?
Though we don’t usually associate summer with colds, seasonal allergies, and the flu, the season brings its share of health concerns, including an increased risk to your skin’s health.
Therefore, the best reason to take the alphabet of vital vitamins we discussed in this article is that they directly contribute to systemic health and strength. From boosting your immune system to strengthening your bones to anti-aging effects, these four essential vitamins will keep you covered all summer long.
Besides the vitamins in this post, there are other nutrients and vitamins you might want to add to your supplement regimen this summer. Check with your doctor to see if adding B-vitamins, potassium, magnesium, or vitamin K can improve other areas of your health this season.
Whether you’re heading to the beach with family and friends or just lounging at the pool, Phyto350® can protect your skin from sun damage this season and keep it glowing until the leaves turn.
- https://www.webmd.com/beauty/features/how-your-skin-can-survive-summer
- https://www.cancer.org/healthy/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/uv-radiation.html#:~:text=UV%20rays%2C%20either%20from%20the,can%20also%20cause%20eye%20problems.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5514576/
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/301506#:~:text=Antioxidants%20are%20substances%20that%20can,can%20be%20natural%20or%20artificial.
- https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-benefits-of-vitamin-c
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-a/
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15050-vitamin-d–vitamin-d-deficiency
