How One Positive Change Can Lead To Another
Don‘t you just love it when you start doing something for one reason but then are able enjoy additional positive effects that you really didn‘t think about when you started?
I‘ve noticed this happening many times throughout my life. For example at the time I stopped drinking sugary soda, my kids were 6 and 4 and had never had it. I stopped these drinks for my personal health benefits because I knew they were packed with sugar and other nasty stuff, but the positive side effects went beyond—now that I didn‘t buy soda anymore there was none for the kids to try. To this day, at ages 20 and 22, they hardly ever drink sugary soda and never drink cola drinks.
Another positive side effect came about when I started using collagen, originally because of my joints. They were always sore and I had problems, with even some light exercises. Everything overhead was difficult because of three shoulder surgeries I had been through, my back was continuously sore and the joints in my ankles and knees really needed some TLC.
After six weeks of taking my marine collagen, I started to notice a big difference in my joints and was able to do challenging workouts like CrossFit. I notice that when one thing falls into place, you gain the power to create a snowball effect of positive results. When my joints improved, I noticed other positive effects—improved digestion, my hair and nails grew faster, and my skin became smoother. The change in the level of moisture in my skin caused me to start thinking more about my skincare routine. When you are young and invicible you don‘t think about your skin, it just is.
The skin is the largest organ of the body, so we need to take good care of it. As an athlete I shower every day, which can dry out and strip the skin of important oils. So, besides taking collagen every day, here are my do‘s and dont‘s for good skin health:
- Use good sunscreen — the sun is damaging, so always use sunscreen. Look for something that has zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in it. These ingredients are safe for your skin. Avoid sunscreen with oxybenzone, which penetrates the skin, goes into the bloodstream and acts like an estrogen in the body.
- Drink plenty of water — the best for hydration, and stay away from sugary drinks
- Get enough sleep — the skin has its highest levels of blood flow at night, which helps repair damaged skin
- Avoid smoking and reduce stress
- Moisturize your skin — use good quality, natural skincare products
- Eat a lot of fruit and vegetables — carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and spinach are great for you, and oranges, apples, lemons and strawberries are great fruits to eat for glowing skin
- Take collagen supplements — like just björn marine collagen
As always, I encourage you to take charge of your own health. Being healthy requires you to dot your i‘s and cross your t‘s, but it‘s not that complicated and usually the same things you need to focus on: eat clean and healthy, sleep at least 7-9 hours a night, drink lots of fluids (water), exercise, and avoid stress. Once you have those key areas covered it‘s easy to add the things that will benefit your skin health. One thing is certain, none of us are getting any younger, but aging can be beautiful when you have healthy glowing skin!
