Natural health: sunscreen and water intake

I am planning to travel soon, however I tend to burn easily in the sun. Could you please recommend a good quality natural sunscreen for me?

You are wise to choose a non-chemical alternative to conventional sunscreens, as anything you put on your skin will get into your system, despite doing a great job of keeping out the harmful rays.

Even if it is just a case of having sensitive or reactive skin, natural sunscreens have come a long way in the last 10 years and are now an effective protection against damaging rays with high SPF options available.

There are so many wonderful natural sunscreen options available in health stores, pharmacies, and even supermarkets now — familiarise yourself with ingredients you wish to avoid, and choose the best SPF level for your skin type.

I would recommend the Parasol Sun Care and Lavera sun protection ranges, along with Green People and Miessence.

If you miss a spot or two with the sunscreen, you may want to have some natural sunburn remedies at hand to be on the safe side.

Pure aloe vera, using the cooling inner gel straight from the plant, is a wonderful (and simple) remedy for any type of burn. All you need to do is slice the succulent leaf lengthways and rub the gel on the affected skin.

Plain, unsweetened yoghurt is another easy to find sunburn solution — just apply directly as needed to cool, soothe and rebalance the pH levels of the skin. Rinse the yoghurt off your skin when it begins to dry, reapplying and rinsing as necessary.

Strawberries and cucumbers are also effective options.

Fresh strawberries mashed and applied directly to the skin works well, as do slices of cucumber.

Both of these foods can be combined with the aforementioned yoghurt to boost the healing and soothing properties.

If you never seem to make it through a summer holiday without sunburn, then you can make a batch of Sunburn Tea to store in the fridge ahead of time.

Boil four cups of water and pour this over two cups of fresh mint leaves along with 3-4 plain black teabags. Steep this combination for 10 minutes, then strain into a glass jar and leave it to cool. Apply as needed using a cotton ball soaked in the cold tea solution.

The tannic acid of the black tea helps to rebalance the skin’s pH, while the mint immediately cools and reduces redness. Sunburn Tea will keep for three to four weeks in the fridge.

Is the current recommendation still that we should be drinking eight glasses of water a day? I usually meet this standard, but it is not always possible to get this much water in.

Getting in plenty of good quality drinking water is still an important consideration when it comes to the health and functioning of your entire bodily systems, however, the eight 8oz glasses per day recommendation is simply a guideline rather than an absolute one-size-fits-all measure.

Everybody is very different — living and working in differing environments, with various lifestyle and dietary choices, and in some cases underlying health issues.

You will need to tap into the innate wisdom of your body a little, paying attention to thirst cues rather than cravings for carbonated beverages and so on.

Straight up water, or with a twist of citrus, cucumber, or fresh herbs is the best choice.

Individuals who consume large amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables often find that they need very little water in addition to this since most fruit and veg contain up to 85% water.

Since our bodies are largely made up of water, it is a vital component of most biochemical processes taking place within our system.

Nutrients are dissolved in water to be utilised by our body, transported in blood which is mostly water, and water is also vital in removing waste from our bodies via sweat, urine and faeces.