I am beyond glad that summer is almost here… so glad, in fact, that I talk to myself about it in this short podcast episode. Listen as I answer questions and share by best tips for preparing for a healthy (and stress-free ) summer.

Did you Know?

The term “dog days of summer” refers to the time between July 3 and August 11 and refers to the star Sirius in the constellation Canis Major. Also, according to folklore, if you want to know (roughly) the temperature, listen to the number of cricket chirps in a 15-second period and add 37 to get the approximate temperature in Fahrenheit.

7 Tips for Healthy Summer

1. Eat Your Sunscreen (+ Astaxanthin Benefits)

What goes into your body is at least as important as what goes ON it for sun protection. An anti-inflammatory diet low in processed foods and high in vegetables, Omega-3s and healthy fats can help prevent sun damage and increase your body’s ability to get benefits from the sun.

Resources Mentioned:

• Article: Eat Your Sunscreen– diet and supplements for healthy summer skin
• Article: Astaxanthin Benefits
• Article: Avoid Sunburn and Tan Better with Real Food
• Supplement: Astaxanthin

2. Get Dirty!

There is a lot of evidence that our overly sterile, sanitized and dirt free lifestyle is hurting our children’s immune systems and microbiomes. Microbes in the soil help a child’s immune system develop and also provide beneficial soil based organisms, which are potent probiotics.

This summer, let the kids play outside, make mud-pies, start a garden, get dirty… and join them!

Article: Why Kids (and Adults) Need Dirt

3. Make Your Own Bug Spray

Most commercial bug sprays contain DEET, which can be harmful to humans and especially to aquatic life and birds. Avoid the potential problems with DEET by making your own bug spray with one of these two simple recipes. You can also make bug-repellent lotion bars and an age-old concoction called “The Vinegar of the Four Thieves” that smells terrible but keeps all the bugs away!

4. And Sunscreen

Sunscreen is another commercial product that is often packed with harmful (and unnecessary) chemicals. Make your own with simple ingredients like coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax, zinc oxide and raspberry oil and get the same effect without the downsides.

Recipe: Homemade sunscreen or sunscreen bars

5. Beach Waves Spray for Easy Summer Hair

Since unfortunately I can’t be at the beach every day during the summer, I can at least trick my hair into thinking I am. My homemade Beach Waves Texturizing Spray uses the same minerals, salts and magnesium found in ocean water that give hair such wonderful volume and waves so that you can achieve the look at home everyday. Just spritz onto damp hair, scrunch