Winter is over! Cold season is done! Time to let your guard down and go wild this summer!
Not so fast….The colder months may be considered “sick season,” but your health doesn’t actually change with the weather. No matter what time of year it is, your body needs a solid nutritional foundation to stay strong. You might even need certain nutrients more in the summer to protect you from the effects of the sun, dehydration and getting sand in every crevice during a trip to the beach. Okay, nutrition may not be able to help you with that last one. But supplements can be a big part of making sure you feel swell this summer. You do NOT want to come down with a cold just before the vacation you’ve been waiting so long for.
Here are the top 5 summer supplements that you should never skip during the hottest time of the year.
Vitamin C
Sunbathing without burning your fragile skin can be a tricky balance to strike—especially when those rays feel so good! If you find yourself looking like a tomato after a long day of soaking up the rays, vitamin C has been found to reduce the damage [1]. It’s even more powerful when combined with vitamin E, which is why it’s always a good idea to take a comprehensive multivitamin all summer.
Vitamin C is a powerful photoprotective antioxidant, meaning it’s able to counter the effects of UV radiation. UV rays can have intense repercussions when it comes to your skin—one of these is premature aging. When unstable electrons from the sun come after your innocent cells, they can change their structure, resulting in wrinkles [2]. This process is called oxidation, and antioxidants like vitamin C are among the best counters to this kind of damage.
Other possible effects of UV radiation include immune system suppression and skin lesions [3]. Vitamin C’s immune-boosting power can minimize their chances of forming. Just to be clear, taking this summer supplement doesn’t give you a free pass to skip the sunscreen. But it can help you bronze into a Greek god(ess) instead of a rotisserie chicken.
Immune Support
Your skin isn’t the only part of your body the sun can attack. It can also weaken your immune system. We’ve all felt the effects of getting too much sun. And for some, this can turn into an illness that lasts for days. That doesn’t sound like the summer vacation of our dreams.
When the sun’s rays penetrate your skin, they are absorbed by your DNA, altering your cell structure. This results in the production of molecules different from your immune system’s usual ones, weakening cellular immunity [4]. In fancy terms, this is called UV-induced immunosuppression.
So, winter isn’t the only time your immunity system could use a boost. Thankfully, there are a few ways to keep your immune system strong without having to wear a hoodie to the beach. One of them is taking a natural immunity booster like Manna Liposomal Elderberry Immune. This natural supplement is full of immunity-supporting herbs like elderberry and echinacea, which have been found to reduce the length of colds and boost immune function [5,6]. Taking a supplement may prevent an immunity dip that would have stopped you from taking a dip in the pool. Or, if you do succumb to the sun, nutrition may help you bounce back in no time.
If you’re prone to feeling woozy in the sun, give yourself an extra boost with Manna’s Immunity Bundle It’s got everything you need for well-rounded immune support, including glutathione and curcumin, both of which can protect you from the oxidative stress caused by the sun [7,8].
Sleep Complex
With summer vacation comes summer travel—and jet lag, the ruiner of summer trips. Jet lag can last days or even a week, preventing you from feeling like yourself or enjoying your vacay. Why can’t your body just sleep and wake up like normal?
Your body gets used to your sleep-wake rhythms based on daylight, and it adjusts your hormones accordingly. But when you jump to a different time zone, your body clock doesn’t make the switch [9]. Thankfully, sleep supplements can help your body turn its clock to your new timezone much faster, so you can enjoy late-night tapas in Barcelona without falling into your gazpacho.
Manna’s Sleep Complex is made with 100% natural, non-pharmaceutical, and non-dependency forming ingredients. So you can take it on the plane, at the hotel and when you return home to keep your sleep wheels well-oiled. With proper rest, you’ll be able to enjoy your much-deserved vacation to its maximum potential!
Hydration Support
It’s easy to lose track of your water intake all year round, but in summer it can lead to heat stroke. Dehydration can sneak up on you too. Some of the most dehydrating activities are actually water sports like surfing, swimming and snorkeling.
Heat stroke strikes when your body doesn’t have the moisture it needs to produce enough sweat. Sweat is like your built-in air conditioner, and without it, your body’s internal temperature can rise to extremes [10]. Even if you don’t succumb to heat stroke, dehydration is serious. Symptoms include dizziness, loss of consciousness and even seizures.
If you’re active in the summer, you need to make sure that your body uses the water it has in the best possible way. Taking a hydration support supplement helps you hydrate faster, replenishes your system with electrolytes and boosts recovery when you break a sweat. The all-natural minerals help your body retain and regulate the fluids, so it could make the difference between feeling great at the game or going down for the count [11]. Under the summer sun, you need your hydration to go the extra mile—so you can too.
Vitamin D
Hold on a second. You may be thinking, “Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin, right? Isn’t summer the time you’d get the most of it?” It seems that way, but studies show that vitamin D deficiency is a year-round phenomenon [12]. Just because the sun’s out doesn’t mean you’re maxing out your vitamin D levels. This is especially true if you regularly wear sunscreen: since it blocks the sun’s rays from affecting your skin, it can also reduce the vitamin D those rays could zap into your body [13].
Now, we’re not telling you to avoid sunscreen—the opposite, actually. It’s critical for protecting your skin from UV radiation. But what about vitamin D? It’s responsible for healthy bones and muscles, working hand-in-hand with calcium to keep you standing on two feet [14]. The best solution is to lather up in SPF and add vitamin D to your summer supplements too. Then, you’ll be protected from the inside out!
This Summer, Bask in Good Health
It’s easy to overlook health issues while you’re busy basking in the sun. After all, in the summer, you just feel so good! But ignoring your health when the sun comes out can result in summertime sick days, and it can even speed up the aging process. Yikes! More skin damage happens in June, July and August than in the rest of the year. And there’s always the threat of dehydration, which can have body-wide repercussions. Summer travel can also throw your body for a loop.
So yes, relax and enjoy your time off—but don’t take a summer vacation from proper nutrition. Take your summer supplements to make the most of your time under the sun.
FAQ
Even though summer is a time of high energy and activity, your body still requires a solid nutritional foundation to handle the stress of sun exposure, dehydration, and increased physical activity. Supplements like vitamin C and vitamin D, as well as supplements that provide support for immunity, sleep, and hydration play crucial roles in maintaining your health during the summer.
Sleep supplements, such as Manna Liposomal Sleep Complex, can help adjust your body clock to new time zones more quickly, reducing the effects of jet lag and helping you enjoy your summer travels without disruption.
Despite ample sunlight, many people still experience Vitamin D deficiency due to sunscreen use, which blocks UV rays that help produce Vitamin D in the skin. Supplementing with Vitamin D ensures you maintain healthy bones and muscles while protecting your skin with sunscreen.
Yes, supplements like a hydration support can prevent dehydration, a major factor in heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke. Ensuring adequate hydration and electrolyte levels helps maintain your body’s cooling mechanisms.
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9448204/
- https://www.bcm.edu/news/benefits-vitamin-c-skin-care
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537164/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5187459/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4848651/
- https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/herb/echinacea
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4684116/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5664031/
- https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/jet-lag
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/dehydration-and-heat-stroke
- https://health.clevelandclinic.org/electrolyte-drinks-beneficial-or-not/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21717408/
- https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/18/health/vitamin-d-deficiency-sunscreen-wellness/index.html
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-d/
