Summer is the season of sunshine, vacations, and outdoor adventures, making it a popular time to focus on healthy, radiant skin. Whether you're spending time at the beach, traveling, or enjoying more time outdoors, your complexion often gets a little extra attention this time of year.

However, summer can also create challenges. Increased sun exposure, environmental stressors, and lifestyle factors may affect hydration, firmness, and overall appearance over time.

While skin care products can help, a healthy glow depends on more than what you apply to the surface. Nutrition, hydration, sleep, physical activity, and other lifestyle habits all play important roles in supporting skin health.

Small, consistent habits can make a meaningful difference. Supporting your skin from the inside out can help you maintain a healthy, radiant appearance throughout the summer months and beyond.

Hydrated Skin Starts From Within

Hydration is one of the most important factors in skin health. When skin becomes dehydrated, it may appear dry, rough, dull, or less smooth. Healthy skin cells need adequate moisture to help maintain softness, comfort, and a healthy-looking appearance.

While moisturizers and other skin care products can help support the skin's surface, drinking enough fluids is one of the most important ways to support healthy skin hydration.

Water-rich foods and beverages can also contribute to daily fluid intake. Foods such as watermelon, cucumbers, oranges, berries, and leafy greens, along with options like soups and smoothies, can help support hydration while providing nutrients that contribute to overall wellness.

During the summer, factors such as heat, travel, outdoor activities, and alcohol consumption can make it more challenging to stay hydrated. Making hydration a daily habit can help support moisture balance, a healthy complexion, and keep skin looking radiant throughout the season.

Nutrition Helps Support Healthy, Radiant Skin

Just like the rest of your body, your skin depends on good nutrition. Certain micronutrients, including vitamins and minerals, help support skin hydration, skin barrier function, and healthy-looking skin. Some key compounds that promote skin health include vitamins A, D, C, and E, zinc, copper, selenium, silicon, and phytonutrients (beneficial plant compounds).

Colorful fruits and vegetables provide many of these vitamins and phytonutrients, such as polyphenols and flavonoids, that help support healthy skin and its response to everyday challenges such as sun exposure and pollution.

For example, many fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin C, which helps support collagen production, an important protein that helps maintain healthy-looking, firm skin. Vitamin C is also a potent antioxidant that works alongside other antioxidants, such as vitamin E, to help shield the skin from stress caused by UV exposure.

Likewise, getting optimal protein also provides the building blocks needed for skin renewal and maintenance. Omega-3 fatty acids are another important nutrient for skin health.These healthy fats help support the skin’s moisture balance and protective barrier, keeping skin smooth, comfortable, and healthy-looking.

Summer Sun Can Challenge Your Skin

Too much sun exposure can take a toll on your skin over time. Ultraviolet (UV) rays may affect skin hydration, firmness, smoothness, and overall appearance. Research suggests repeated exposure to UV rays can contribute to visible signs of skin aging, including the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and uneven-looking skin.

That’s why sunscreen, protective clothing, hats, sunglasses, and seeking shade remain important parts of a healthy summer skin care routine. Taking steps to limit excessive sun exposure can help support healthy-looking skin throughout the summer months.

Healthy Skin Aging Starts With Everyday Choices

Researchers continue to study compounds called advanced glycation end products, or AGEs. AGEs can form naturally in the body over time and may also come from certain foods, particularly foods cooked at very high temperatures. AGEs are primarily formed through the Maillard reaction, which is the same reaction that browns chicken in a hot pan, or turns bread into toast.

Research suggests that excess accumulation of AGES may affect proteins such as collagen and elastin, which help support skin structure, firmness, and elasticity. Because collagen and elastin play important roles in healthy-looking skin, researchers continue to study how AGEs may contribute to visible signs of skin aging and overall skin health.

Certain food choices may help reduce exposure to AGEs. Choosing more whole foods, limiting heavily processed foods, and preparing foods with gentler cooking methods such as steaming, poaching, or stewing may help reduce AGE formation. Depending on the food, shorter cooking times, lower cooking temperatures, and the use of acidic ingredients such as lemon juice or vinegar may also help limit AGE production. Including a variety of antioxidant-rich foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices, may help protect against oxidative stress associated with AGE accumulation and support overall skin health.

Your Skin Repairs Itself While You Sleep

Your body performs many of its repair and recovery processes while you sleep, including processes that support healthy skin.

Research suggests that poor sleep may affect skin health and appearance. Getting enough quality sleep supports the body's natural recovery processes and may help promote a healthy, vibrant complexion. Sleep also helps support overall wellness, which can influence how your skin looks and feels over time.

Stress can affect skin health as well. It may disrupt sleep quality and daily habits, which can influence the body's normal recovery processes. Prioritizing healthy sleep habits and managing stress through practices such as exercise, meditation, deep breathing exercises, or yoga can help support healthy skin.

Movement Supports Healthy, Glowing Skin

Physical activity supports healthy circulation, including blood flow to the skin. Research suggests that regular exercise may help support skin hydration, structure, and overall skin health.

Moving your body also supports stress management, healthy aging, and overall well-being. Whether you’re walking, swimming, cycling, strength training, practicing yoga, or doing another activity you enjoy, regular movement can be part of a healthy lifestyle that supports healthy-looking skin.

You don't have to spend hours at the gym to see benefits. Staying active throughout the week can support overall health and help you maintain a healthy, radiant appearance all year long.

Healthy Skin Is Built Through Daily Habits

Healthy skin is influenced by many factors, from hydration and nutrition to sleep, physical activity, and everyday environmental exposures. Research also suggests that factors such as sun exposure, stress, and AGE accumulation may affect how skin looks and feels over time. While no single habit can determine skin health, these factors work together to support healthy skin and healthy aging.

Supporting healthy skin doesn't have to be complicated. Staying hydrated, eating a nutrient-rich diet, getting quality sleep, managing stress, staying active, and making other healthy lifestyle choices can help support a healthy, radiant-looking complexion throughout the summer and beyond.

Because nutrition and health needs vary from person to person, work with a qualified health-care practitioner when considering dietary supplements or major dietary changes. A practitioner can help recommend personalized nutrition and lifestyle strategies that support healthy skin and overall wellness.*

Key Takeaways

• Hydration, nutrition, sleep, physical activity, and stress management help support healthy skin, a radiant-looking complexion, and overall wellness.
• Vitamin C, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids help support skin structure, skin hydration, and overall skin health.
• Too much sun exposure may affect skin hydration, firmness, and the visible signs of skin aging over time.
• Certain food choices and cooking methods may help reduce exposure to advanced glycation end products (AGEs), compounds that researchers continue to study for their role in skin aging.
• Small, consistent daily habits can help support healthy skin throughout the summer season and beyond.

*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.