It’s fun to be outside in the summer but the sun and heat can be very harmful to our health. Too much sun and heat can cause sunstroke and dehydration, both serious conditions with symptoms that include heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Here are some tips to stay hydrated and make sure you get the maximum enjoyment out of summer.
You should wear clothes that are light and also light-colored. Dark colors absorb the sun. Heavy shirts, like white linen, trap heat on your body. You should also wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from harmful ultraviolet rays, which can scorch your cornea. Make sure the sunglasses you choose block 90% to 100% of the UV rays or they are not worth your purchase. Just because sunglasses say that they protect your eyes from UV, doesn’t mean they block enough of it to be effective. Be wary of gas station quality glasses!
You should also wear a hat to protect your face and your head (if you’re bald like me) from the UV light. UV light wrinkles our skin and causes little spots to show up when we get older. Extreme exposure can cause skin cancer.
Even on a cloudy summer day, you should wear sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. Be wary that most suncreens do not provide the protection that they claim. So, it’s better to get a stronger sunscreen than weaker. Even the ones that say 70+ SPF usually are only about 20. Don’t forget to put some on your ears, nose, shoulders, and back of your neck. Also, don’t forget lip balm with built in sunscreen. Most of us don’t think about it, but our lips burn, too!
It is very easy to get dehydrated in the summertime heat because many of us don’t change our drinking habits to adjust for the increase in the temperature. In the winter and spring, most of us don’t drink as much (even though we should). Then, when it starts to heat up, we forget to drink more water to compensate. You should be drinking at least 10 ounces an hour of premium ionized drinking water during the summertime. It has to be ionized because the summertime heat puts extra stress on our bodies, which increases the amount of free radicals in our cells, which in turn do more damage to our bodies. We tend not to eat as much in the summer, so it is important to get your antioxidants from your drinking water. When you do eat, make sure you are including colorful fruits and vegetables, which are full of antioxidants.
It’s also important to drink cold ionized drinking water in the summer. The cold ionized drinking water will help keep our body temperatures cool and that is less stress on our bodies. You should make ice cubes out of the ionized drinking water and put those ice cubes into a dark glass or polycarbonate bottle, then fill with premium ionized drinking water and keep your bottle close all day long!
This summer you can beat the heat with the right clothes, protection, and premium ionized drinking water. If you don’t have a water ionizer to make premium ionized drinking water, give us a call! We have great retail pricing and often have used units in stock to make getting a water ionizer affordable for most families. We even have payment plans available!
To your health!
Alderin Ordell
www.waterforlifeusa.com
