Boost: Bone & Skin
Skin – Want to be wrinkle free and fabulous in your 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond? It starts now! Protect your skin with a full-spectrum (UVA/UVB- blocking) sunscreen applied daily. If your skin is acne-prone, look for an oil-free zinc oxide sunscreen, as zinc is anti-bacterial and can help prevent a breakout.
Our skin is our largest organ and it can absorb what is applied such as lotions, perfumes and cosmetics. As doctors we use skin to deliver medications such as testosterone, so that is an indication of how great our skin absorbs topical applications. With this in mind, choose your products wisely! Look for hypoallergenic products that use simple, organic and paraben-free ingredients. Parabens are known to mimic estrogen in the body and may affect the growth of breast and prostate tissue. In a 2004 study published by the Journal of Applied Toxicology, 18 of 20 malignant breast tumors showed high concentrations of parabens. Choosing skin products wisely can be a simple step towards reducing our toxic load and protecting our future health.
Bone – During our 20s and early 30s we hit our peak bone strength, which we draw upon for the rest of our life! Build that bone density with weight bearing exercises and eating a diet rich in calcium and Vitamin K such as spinach, kale, broccoli, Swiss cheese, almonds and salmon. If supplementation is needed, look for calcium as microcrystalline hydroxyapatite and Vitamin K2 as menaquinone for the best absorption.
Be sure to have your doctor check Vitamin D levels, as it is needed to optimize your calcium absorption. Vitamin D is actually considered a pro-hormone, rather than a nutrient, which is produced by your body when exposed to sunlight. Even though we live in sunny Orange County, however, most of our patients are Vitamin D deficient, probably because we work indoors or are protecting ourselves from the damaging rays with sunscreen. Foods rich in Vitamin D include wild salmon, tuna, sole, fortified milk, fortified cereal, pork, eggs, beef liver and ricotta cheese. If your blood work reveals a low or suboptimal Vitamin D level (anything less than 80) a Vitamin D3 supplement of 1000 IU per day or more may be needed depending on the level of deficiency.
So look good from your skin down to your bones!
For more information on how to live healthy naturally contact Dr. Bridget Anderson, Naturopathic Medical Doctor at HEAL Natural Medicine. 949-476-3278 or Bridget.Anderson.ND@gmail.com