The Weather Outside is (not) Frightening

Do you like my pun on a traditional Christmas song, but for the opposite time of the year? Yes, it’s cheesy, but thank you for indulging as we explore this topic together. The summer time brings about some serious heat changes, especially here in Charlotte, NC. Most of you have probably already turned on your AC, or maybe one of you still has an icebox you use. 

Some of you may be lathering on sunscreen thinking that you are protecting your skin, others may avoid going outside all together once it get “too hot” outside. The goal of this newsletter is to give you a holistic point of view of how to treat yourself to better health this summer.

Finding Your Way to Enjoy the Heat

Are you the type to dread the heat in the summer? Do you hate sweating (one of the best ways to detox your body, and its free) or is just your clothes sticking to you that makes you cringe? The heat is your friend, and it’s not going away. The goal of this section is to teach you how to best deal with the heat without compromising the integrity of your body systems.

Let’s break down this AC topic; and this is not to say that using AC is inherently bad. The issue becomes the large discrepancy of what you choose to set your AC at and what ambient, outside temperature actually is. 

What that means is, do you have one set temperature that you NEED to keep your house cooled to? One number that seems to be popular is 68 deg F. Your house must be 68 deg all summer long for you to “beat the heat”. This temperature works really well when its 70-74 deg outside. You come inside and think its so cool inside and you love it. 

But what happens when the temperature outside gets into the 80s, and then the 90s? Going from working outside to now more than a 20 deg drop inside instantly is a tough sell on your body.

Going from an 80+ deg outside to a now freezing 68 deg inside environment can create some massive problems. It is an huge adaptation that your body is not expecting. After all, you were just outside in the natural environment temperature of 80 deg. 

On top of that, assuming the humidity is like it is in Charlotte and is higher above 50%, with the cool environment creates the perfect place for mold to start to grow on the walls of your house. 

So what is the best thing to do? Ideally, keep your temperature 2-5 degrees cooler than what it is outside, up to a point. Much past 85 degrees, you’ll want to keep your house around 78 regardless. This creates a smaller swing between inside and outside environments. 

If it cools off at night time, give your AC system a rest and open the windows! This will also help to normalize the humidity. From an AC expert, do not turn the AC on to a cold temperature when the day is at its hottest; you’ll simply end up ruining the AC unit and potentially freezing it over as it tries to drastically cool your house to whatever temperature you set.

The Sun is Your Friend

Sunscreen has become all too popular over the last several decades. Let’s get right down to it: sun exposure to our skin is a great thing! We need the UVA and UVB radiation exposure to help stimulate Vitamin D synthesis and eventually cholesterol inside our bodies. So why do so many people coat themselves with unhealthy sunscreens?

The answer: it’s been a genius marketing gimmick to sell you on the need to protect your skin from the sun, with sun burns and skin cancers being the fears that are sold to you.

The funny thing is, research shows that you are more likely to get skin cancer from the -benzene creams that you use than you are from lifetime sun exposure. The -benzene and other chemicals in sunscreen help it to easily absorb into your skin so it doesn’t show the unattractive white paste. Think about it: Your pores are being chemically separated to allow in a chemical, so that you can maintain the social aesthetic norm. Now does that sound crazy or what?!?

The bottom line is yes, you do not want to get sunburnt. The trick is to slowly increase your sun exposure from March-July, that way when you take your summer beach trip you do not have to worry about burning because you have already adapted to the summer sun. If you are going to put something on your body, find a zinc oxide cream. I recommend the sticks from Babo Botanicals. They are chemical free, easy to apply, and barely show on skin. If you’re ready to be protected from the inside-out, use our CZi supplement to get your body ready to love the sun!