Nosh One. Wisdom.
Have you ever felt more healthy and happy with a tan?
Oh buddy, I have. Take me back to circa 1992/93 and I think I spent the whole summer outside on a towel in my back yard with brown tanning oil, with SPF 2, smeared all over myself. There would be days I would go for hours and of course during the peak part of the day 10 am - 2pm. Then there were the summers at the lake, tanning beds preparing for prom and beach vacations. A million freckles later, melasma, moles and the one day my Dad told me to go wash the dirt off my knees, but it wasn't dirt. Oh and then there was that one time I was going through some sad times during the winter of 2014 and tanning made me feel better. Until it didn't and I got melanoma.
The kicker is: I worked in dermatology clinic for 10 years and as a histotechnologist, I processed skin cancers. I. KNEW. BETTER.
In our world, we are trying really hard to get rid of diet culture, body shaming and eating disorders.
What are we doing about the "tanning culture" out there?
No ones worth, or body or life is any better because they are tan. There is still a stigma against wearing sunscreen and being pasty. I have heard SPF 30 is way to much because you will not get tan or the best one I have heard is you won't absorb any Vitamin D from the sun if you wear sunscreen. I also continue to hear how safe tanning beds are for you and with deals like "tan until the end of the year for only $10 a month." How is this not enticing? Other notable comments include people feeling they look skinnier when they are tan. This breaks my heart because I know how they feel, I felt the same way at certain points in my life.
Please don't get sucked into any part of tanning culture. Yes the sun is wonderful. So is sunscreen and you will still get a lovely glow. Tanning beds are not wonderful and have no benefit to your health. Please stay out of them. You look amazing regardless of your tan level and if you need a friendly reminder, I will be over here with the mantra of #embracethepaste with a gallon of sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, an umbrella and plenty of clothing.
Nosh Two. Weekly Conversation.
May #EmbracetheHellYeah Conversation (listen here!)
What makes you say “hellyeah” at the end of the day? For any question I am asked or I ask myself, if I cannot 100% say hell yeah as my answer then it is a hell no. I want you to embrace saying yes with your whole heart and soul by enjoying every part of your authentic life. At the end of each month, I want to get more up close and personal with you all on the other side of the airwaves and share with you more about how my podcast guests are I are doing our best to #embracethehellyeah. This month I am sharing more about my passion of skincare and skin cancer awareness.
Connect and let me know what you think by emailing me or connecting with me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
Nosh Three. Weekly Hell Yeah!
May is skin cancer awareness month and if you are a friend to the blog, you know I am very passionate about prevention. Skin cancer is nothing to mess around with, especially since our skin is our largest organ. I have had a few friends, including myself, who have been diagnosed with a form of skin cancer and I know I will continue to learn of more and more. I love the sun but I love sunscreen more, which hasn't always been the case. The early in life and the more consistent with are with protecting ourselves, the better. Here are some interesting facts from SkinCancer.org:
- More people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the U.S. than all other cancers combined
- About 90 percent of nonmelanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun
- An estimated 192,310 cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2019. Of those, 95,830 cases will be in situ (noninvasive), confined to the epidermis (the top layer of skin), and 96,480 cases will be invasive, penetrating the epidermis into the skin’s second layer (the dermis). Of the invasive cases, 57,220 will be men and 39,260 will be women
- On average, a person’s risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had more than five sunburns
- The International Agency for Research on Cancer, an affiliate of the World Health Organization, includes ultraviolet (UV) tanning devices in its Group 1, a list of agents that are cancer-causing to humans. Group 1 also includes agents such as plutonium, cigarettes and solar UV radiation
- More people develop skin cancer because of indoor tanning than develop lung cancer because of smoking
- People who use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher daily show 24 percent less skin aging than those who do not use sunscreen daily
I wanted to share a few of my current tips on prevention and what I am doing to never get melanoma again.
 |
| Tip 1: Did you know certain foods help protect you from UV radiation from the inside out? Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and kiwis are natural sunblock protecting you from the inside. Aim for 1 cup of of berries or 1 1/2 kiwi a day. |
 |
| Tip 2: Wear Sunscreen Please! All the time, along with hats and polarized sunglasses. I never leave the house without sunscreen, even on cloudy days. Aim for SPF 15 or 30 and place it to all exposed areas in the fall/winter months and all over your body during spring/summer. I recommend choosing a mineral based sunscreen like All Good. |
 |
| Tip 3: Apply sunscreen at least 15 minutes before sun exposure. Putting it on outside is already too late. You want to give your skin a little time to soak it up. Same way with putting it on and then jumping it water. Did you know over 14,000 gallons of sunscreen ends up in our oceans? Another brand I like is Aveeno for a mineral based sunscreen. |
 |
| Tip 4: We all love a little glow from the sun, especially during the summer, so I recommend find a self-tanning product you like. I have been liking the results and smell of Beauty By Earth. Photo: beautybyearth.com Or like me on my days, you can just #embracethepaste. |
Nosh Four. Weekly Soundtrack.
 |
| Enjoy my delightfully random May Soundtrack on Apple Music and Spotify. |
Nosh Five. What I love Right Now.
As the spring flowers are slowly fading, I cherish this sweet little Lily of the Valley bouquet from my friend Bonnie. These were one of my sisters favorite flowers and we have a little patch of them by the side of my parents house. They just smell like everything spring and remind me of everything Kate.
~AE
*All views and opinions on products, food and businesses in this blog post are my own and are not sponsored in any way. I just love to share great things!
No comments:
Post a Comment