For obvious reasons, we are used to taking care of the external parts of our body, such as the silhouette, skin and hair, and yet we forget to care about our body internally. Curiously, the state of our inner health will reflect on our external part of the body. Of course, we can look wonderfully good from the outside even if we are not enjoying from internal health. The priority should be to take care of ourselves from the inside out. We have spoken with Dr. Helena Rutllant, internist and nutrition specialist, to explain how to holistically start taking care of our body from the inside out
- As we said, we are more used to take care of ourselves from the outside than the inside. Would you say that is the general dynamic of today’s society?
I would say not anymore. For some years now, we believed in the concept of external and visible care, but today, this concept encompasses a more holistic vision. The real meaning of taking care of yourself is caring about your own well-being, especially about your health.
- Why should we take care of ourselves comprehensively?
Because we must understand ourselves as a whole. We do not work in parts, from a biochemical reaction at the intracellular level to a movement by our locomotor system or the influence of an emotion to the secretion of hormones by any of our endo / exocrine glands.
This is what I said about the holistic concept, always looking for benefits at a systemic level. Solving a symptom is not treating the cause, it is temporarily masking what occupies us.
- What are the basic pillars to start pampering our body?
Above all, we have to think that when we want to start taking care of ourselves, we must first respect and understand our own body and needs. That is the fundamental pillar. When we talk about basic pillars, food, rest, exercise, etc. come to everyone’s mind. I would like to go deeper and expand these concepts.
Currently, there is a concept that is increasingly gaining importance and encompasses what I have mentioned before, chronobiology. It is a discipline of physiology that studies biological rhythms and is involved in specialties as important as endocrinology, neurophysiology, sleep science, etc.
External stimuli such as sunlight, food or exercise, have an effect on the CNS (our central clock) that will influence organs and tissues (our peripheral clocks) and both on circadian rhythms, which will affect such important processes as the immune response, our body temperature, the functioning of our endocrine glands and our metabolism, the sleep – wake cycle, our digestive system, our behaviour, even our cellular physiology. All this we should apply to self-awareness, since self-knowledge and self-control are the key tools to achieve our goals.
We know what mindfulness is, but we should also know what mindfoodness or conscious eating is: a science that helps us to relate in a healthier way with food. This self-knowledge will allow us to adjust our diet to our body needs. The strategy to find comfortable with has to be as personalized as possible.
- What should we do if we want to maintain an optimal state of health?
At first, we should identify our stressors, everything that is toxic to us, those acquired habits that do not add value to our health and, once known, try to modify or eliminate them.
- Lately there is a lot of information about oral sunscreen, what can you tell me about this? Does it really work?
Sun is essential for life, it has numerous positive effects for the organism, for example, it facilitates synthesis of vitamin D, improves our mood since it has an antidepressant and psychostimulatory effect, it has anti-inflammatory and anti-infective properties, etc. . However, ultraviolet radiation from the sun (UVA and UVB) also has negative effects and I think it is important to learn about it.
Oral sunscreen is a way of photoprotection which does not combat the sun or block its rays, since its mechanism of action is focused on avoiding or minimizing the harmful effects that solar radiation has. There are some active ingredients such as grapefruit or rosemary that, orally and together with the correct use of topical sunscreens, will help protect our skin more safely and effectively. The function would be to protect the skin from oxidative damage, from lipids degradation, proteins and DNA of cellular structures. Long story short, role of oral sunscreen is more related with protection at cellular level.
Oral sunscreen reinforces topical sunscreen to achieve total body protection, since the systemic route reaches the entire exposed body surface including the mucosa. Therefore, it is a complement to topical sunscreen, not a substitute.
Oral sunscreen can be of great help in risk population groups, such as people with sun sensitive skin, people who are taking some type of photosensitizing medication, those that are prone to develop sunspots, people with vitiligo, Rosacea, lupus, etc.
The use of sunscreen allows you to enjoy healthier and more protected skin, both from oxidation, inflammatory processes and photoageing, which alter both elastin and collagen fibres but do not protect the skin as much at the superficial level.
- Does it really work?
There are studies on the benefits of many of these active ingredients. It is important to know how and to whom they are indicated, since depending on what the problem is for each person, we must personally advise when and how to take this type of supplement like OlioVita Protect in order to optimize the results. Thus, for example, if a person who lives in a sunny area and suffers from sun allergy may be a candidate to take the treatment every other month during the fall and winter and in the spring and summer take it daily.
If we think about situations of prolonged sun exposure, try to start the treatment at least 1 month before as prophylaxis and preparation in order to obtain a more uniform and lasting tan.
During sun exposure our cutaneous carotenoid level can even be reduced by half, therefore, prolonged and frequent exposures in time will require to recharge our reserves in order to enjoy an optimal result. It is important to know taking oral sunscreen as OlioVita Sun, at least 60 minutes before sun exposure will allow us to increase the contribution of these active ingredients in our body.
