Sunshine: Your Friend and (Potential) Foe

Soaking up the Sun

200391563-001I love summer. This season beats the other three hands down. It’s nice and warm, friends are having barbeques every weekend, people shave their pets and it’s hilarious, and we can all pretend winter never even happened.

Plus, there’s more sunlight — a lot more sunlight. In some ways, that’s a good thing, because vitamin D is definitely good for you.

In fact, 15–20 minutes of sun exposure each day will give you a healthy dose of natural vitamin D. But too much time in the sun can lead to excessive ultraviolet (UV) ray exposure, which means more free radicals.

Free Radicals

This is probably already old news to you, but in case you didn’t know, many free radicals are pretty bad for you.

They can damage your cells, and in the long term this can be harmful. You can avoid some free radicals by not smoking and not spending too much time in the sun.

And if you want to get rid of free radicals, or “quench” them, you need to bring in the good guys: antioxidants.

Dog in SunglassesThe Power of Visionex

When you think about the harmful effects of UV rays, you’re probably thinking of sunburns on your skin — but your eyes need protection too.

USANA’s eye health supplement, Visionex®, provides important nutrients to help you feel confident about the health of your eyes. Two essential nutrients — lutein and zeaxanthin — have been strongly linked to eye health.

Lutein and zeaxanthin naturally accumulate in the eye’s macula, which is a small spot in the back of the eye responsible for central vision. And because lutein and zeaxanthin are also powerful antioxidants, they work together to fight damaging free radicals in and around the retina.

Additionally, antioxidants such as lutein may prevent some of the negative effects of UV ray-induced photodamage. So if you want to care for your eyes this summer, keep a bottle of Visionex next to your sunglasses.

couple running on the beachYour Summer Essentials

Want even more antioxidant protection? Free radical scavengers such as selenium and beta-carotene have been shown to inhibit the extent of oxidative stress caused by UV light exposure. And since you’ll find selenium in Chelated Mineral and beta-carotene in Mega Antioxidant, that makes the USANA Essentials® your go-to supplement combo this summer.

So be smart about sun exposure—stay out of the sun between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., wear sunglasses, and take your supplements!

Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15009738
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1462677
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16872755

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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