Stay healthy all summer!
Summer is everyone’s favorite season for fun—and with these easy steps, you can ensure you enjoy every day of it feeling terrific!
1Prevent UTIS with tap water!
Frustrating, but true: Urinary tract infections (UTIS) are more frequent in summer— and researchers say it’s because we’re more prone to dehydration! How can you be sure you’re drinking enough to keep UTIS away? Drink more warm and room-temperature caffeine-free beverages (such as herbal tea and tap water) and fewer cold and carbonated drinks! ✤ It works! Cold and bubbly sensations on your tongue send signals that turn off thirst, causing you to stop drinking before you’ve taken in enough rehydrating liquids. The opposite is true with warmer, flat beverages: They encourage you to keep drinking until you’re fully replenished, plus your body absorbs them faster!
Slash UTIS 32% by having fun!
You’ll enjoy summertime fun like biking, swimming laps and tossing a Frisbee even more knowing that Danish research shows moving more reduces your risk of UTIS 32%! That’s because physical activity shores up your immune system, so you’re less prone to bacterial infections!
2Prevent overheating with cold bottles!
Tend to spend less time outdoors than you’d like in summer because the heat tires you out so fast? There’s an easy trick to staying cool: Simply hold a chilled bottle of water in each hand as you walk! ✤ It works! The cold from the bottles chills the blood in your palms, which then circulates to the rest of your body, stopping you from overheating!
Cool hot flashes with sage tea!
If your hot flashes seem to worsen in summer, it’s not your imagination: High temps and humidity actually intensify them! The fix: Up to four cups of sage tea daily. The herb is brimming with flavonoids, natural compounds that act like estrogen to help the brain regulate your body temperature more effectively!
3Prevent breathing problems with antioxidants!
If you notice that it’s more difficult to take full deep breaths on hot humid days—or you tend to wheeze when active—a daily multivitamin could have you easily breathing deeply within two weeks! ✤ It works! Several studies show that getting plenty of vitamins A, C and E protects delicate lung tissue from damage by ozone—an airway-irritating gas that rises on hot, humid days when certain airborne chemicals are exposed to the sun’s UV light. That’s key since most adults hospitalized for lung issues are women!
Boost the benefit with coleslaw!
Two separate studies show that eating cabbage doubles the lung-protecting antioxidants in your airways—plus, it contains a compound that helps your body easily expel lung-irritating pollutants!
4Prevent allergies with ginger!
Got dark circles under your eyes and puffiness in your face? They’re hallmarks of summer allergies to pollen and mold! Is there an easy way to make them go away? Yes! You can tame those symptoms within days just by drinking one cup of ginger tea or taking 250 mg. of powdered ginger daily (such as Swanson Superior Herbs Ginger Root, $8.99 per 120 250-mg. capsules, Swansonvitamins.com)! ✤ It works! The compound that gives ginger its unique zing (6-gingerol) also prevents your immune system from overreacting to allergy triggers, a new study in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry shows.
And fill up on “good” bacteria!
Taking a daily probiotic that contains Lactobacillus gasseri, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium longum (such as in Kyolic Kyo-dophilus 9, $15.89, Vitacost.com) is shown to make your body less reactive to allergens!
5Prevent skin aging with pine bark!
Already slathering on sunscreen to block the sun rays linked to wrinkles and age spots? You can amp that protection significantly by taking 60 mg. of the pine bark extract Pycnogenol daily! ✤ It works!: Antioxidants in Pycnogenol reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, key culprits behind Uv-triggered premature skin aging. Plus, they curb the overproduction of melanin that causes age spots, reports the journal Skin Pharmacology and Physiology.
Enjoy egg salad!
Egg yolk is rich in lutein, an antioxidant that your body can’t make, which acts like a low sunscreen to protect delicate tissues from UV rays!