Beneficial Beaching.

I went to the beach today, and had a marvelous time! The beach is one of the most therapeutic places for me. Soaking up the wonderful Florida sun, fresh sea breeze, sugary sand, and a gulf of wonderful salt water to swim in. Just being out in the sun and fresh air away from all the stresses of every day life is enough to melt away the weeks craziness. I love sand! Just laying on it, playing with it, digging my feet in it. You know how the bottoms of your feet can get sort of dingy, [especially if you're a dedicated flip-flopper like I] and scrubbing with your shower sponge just doesn't do the trick? You can buy pumice stones and go at them for a while, or you can head to the beach; you will have fresh from the spa feet with no effort on your part. Even better than the soft sand is the salt water. It smells so great with that wonderful breeze coming off of it, but the best part is swimming in it! Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise because it really works out your muscles, without putting stress on your bones and joints. I could swim all day, but there are so many fun sports that can be done at the beach like skim boarding, body surfing, jet skiing, beach volleyball, frisbee. Of course after all that you're going to want to just lay in that sand and let the sun dry you off, maybe read a book, listen to some tunes. Can you tell I'm a Florida girl in love with her beaches???

I am not selling you a lie, beaches have many benefits, but there are definite drawbacks that ruin a beach day. The #1 being cancer causing, skin burning, dehydrating UV rays. The beach is the WORST place in the world for this [except perhaps a tanning bed] because you have direct unshaded sunlight overhead, and you have it bouncing off the white sand and the water. You're getting hit by more than double the normal UV rays. I cannot emphasize the importance of sunscreen enough. I always want to slap people who say they're too scared to go swimming because of sharks, but then lather on tanning oil and lay out for hours in the sun. That is the real beach killer, not jaws.

I have found THE BEST Sunscreen ever. They say don't go above SPF 30 because it doesn't make a difference, well I say it doesn't hurt my chances to get SPF 55. Neutrogena Ultra-Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock is the sunscreen to go with. I originally bought it because my dermatologist recommended it as a good facial moisturizer. When I went to the beach once I used it on my face, and wiped some excess on my shoulders, then just sprayed on some other sunscreen. Everyone knows you're supposed to reapply sunscreen, but few people do. After a long day at the beach upper arms, upper legs, and back was burnt, however my face [the most susceptible to burning] and top of shoulders were not burnt! You could see the line where I had wipped the excess Neutrogen sunscreen, and where the regular kind had been applied. Now I use that sunscreen all over and it has saved my skin.

Today for a example I applied it at home, but didn't get to the beach for a couple hours. I went swimming twice, layed in the sun for a while, sweated a little, and never reapplied like you're supposed to. I was there from 12:30 - 5:00, the worst part of the day for sun, and I didn't get burnt at all! That is some tough sunscreen to protect me after all that. I highly recommend this stuff.

As for sun protection on a daily basis, I say use a moisturizer and foundation with SPF on your face, but it is not necessary to apply sunscreen to your body on a daily basis, unless of course you work in an environment where you are outside with full sun exposure during the afternoon hours, any roofers out there? Vitamin D3 is essential for bodily function, and cannot be synthesized by the body, so must be taken in from the outside. There are not many food naturally containing it, things like salmon, fatty fish oils, and egg yolks, Things you probably don't consume enough of on a daily basis to get the recommended vitamin D. Luckily many dairy products are fortified with it. Why dairy? Because Vitamin D is used in calcium absorption. The sun is another very important source of Vitamin D. Skin exposed to UV rays soak them in and those UV rays are then used in a process to create the end product of vitamin D1-25 [Vitamin D that you eat goes through a similar process to become that product]. This is why when not in a situation where you will be exposed to hours of unyielding sun, like a day at the beach, do not be overly cautious with your sunscreen, because our bodies greatly benefit from that moderate UV ray absorption.

Wow I could probably write a novel if I tried, all my blog posts are soo long!!! Well to wrap up I'll list and maybe briefly discuss some of the other dangers of the beach.

Dehydration - The sun is literally evaporating the water in your body, plus swimming in salt water can dehydrate you as well. Not to mention all the exercise you're getting. DRINK LOTS OF WATER. Please no soda, beer, sugary drinks. Water and electrolyte fortified drinks.

Car Accident - HUH?? Car accidents?? Well after being drained of your energy via exersice and sun, leaving the beach everyone is ready to curl up and fall asleep. I had an hour and a half drive home from the beach and though i usually never have problems driving long distances, I thought I might have to pull over a couple times. I have no clue if there is any study done on people leaving the beach being prone ot wrecks, but I'm just speaking from personal experience/observation.

Sharks - I gotta mention them, despite the likelihood of death by skin cancer being higher than by shark attack. They are scary guys, but also don't let them ruin the fun you could be having in that wonderful water!

Jellyfish, Barnacles, Crabs, etc. - None of these are life threatening, but could ruin a fun day.

Despite my list of dangers, and long spiel of skin cancer, I still feel very strongly that a day at the beach is one of the best ways to spend your day off. Get yourself a good sunscreen, don't use tanning oil, and you can have worry free fun!

Hows that for a semi-healthy lifestyle?
Until next time =]