For the Health of it: Part 1 "About Healthy Living"

Healthy living is more than just dieting and meaningless exercise; it’s a way of life. It goes beyond what you see in the mirror, it’s about how you feel. Shouldn’t that be what it’s all about anyway? Once we shun that nagging voice in the back of our head telling us to look and be like someone else, we can all live life to its full potential.

Words like “skinny” and “fat” are used to describe someone’s health all the time. Instead, we should be idolizing the word healthy. Not everyone who is considered “skinny” is healthy, nor is everyone who is considered “fat” unhealthy. In addition, these words can be hurtful and you don't know where someone may be in their heath journey. Keep a positive attitude about yourself and to others to boost moral. 

So, you might be asking yourself, where do I start? For someone who has always been living his or her lives wishing to be like someone, this is going to be hard. Once you start, you’ll wonder why you haven’t done this a long time ago.

Add cinnamon to apples for a sweet twist

Let’s start out with what you eat. Even though sweet and salty snack foods are delicious and can be a fun addition to a meal, it’s never a bad idea to cut down when you’re eating too much. Same can be said about all these extreme diets, diet pills, and other quick-fix, get skinny fast methods. These diets can be dangerous and don’t create long lasting results. The goal is to be healthy,  not skinny. Have fun with what you eat- love what you eat. Trust me, if you love what you eat, it’ll be easier to not fall back into old habits.

Staying organized can boost productivity

Next, take a look around your house. Chances are there are things you just sort of keep around for reasons you don't even understand. Clutter can be distracting and even cause anxiety. Furthermore, some items you may have in the house can be bad for your physical health if you don't replace them, or just get rid of them all-together. Some quick examples are replacing kitchen sponges to washcloths, replacing air filters regularly, and donating old clothes that are collecting in your closet. A good spring cleaning goes beyond a tidy house; it can be liberating for your body and mind too. 

Exercise. This word can be very scary for some people; let’s change that. I don’t use that word anymore; instead, I say, “I’m going to go have some fun”. A few years ago, I picked up skim boarding, and it’s a blast! Oh yeah, and it also burns on average 395 calories an hour. Zumba, walking the dog, heck, even zip lining is a fun way to get active. 

The perfect cannon ball position is great for your abs!

Lastly, mental health is a factor on healthy living. This is often over shadowed, but can arguably be just as important or most important out of all three. Mental health can affect your ability to make healthy decisions, let alone your every day life. This should be your number one priority of healthy living.

In the next few weeks, I will dive deep into each one of these topics to give you an in depth understanding on how to make a healthier you! And remember, you are beautiful.

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How Reef Friendly is your Sunscreen?

People always tell you "don't forget to put on sunscreen!". Sunscreen is something us humans should be putting on whenever we are going to get sun exposure, especially when you're at the beach in the Virgin Islands. Here's the thing though, have you ever thought about what it might be doing to our coral reef? Recent studies have shown that sunscreens may be hurting, even killing our ocean's vast reef ecosystem.

But before you go ahead and start tossing all of your sunscreen to save the reef, hear us out. First check your label for the active ingredients.

Natural ingredients such as:

Titanium Oxide or Zinc Oxide are far less harmful to corals. 

But ingredients like:

Oxybenzone (benzophenone-3) 

Butylparaben

Octinoxate (ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate)

4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4mbc) 

are all found more dangerous.

Chances are, your sunscreen will have at least one of these "dangerous" ingredients. Nearly all sunscreens do; even sunscreens that are deemed "reef safe". Additionally, in large quantities, sunscreen isn't even that great for your own skin because of the wide variety of chemicals they contain.

What do I mean when I say dangerous? What the main concern is "coral bleaching". This is the process in which coral's algae (zooxanthellae) will expel, hurting or killing the coral, and leaving it white; thus "coral bleaching". Sunscreen isn't the only factor that can bring on this unfortunate event, but we can only hope that by changing the way we lather up before swimming and snorkeling can make a difference.

Read More About Coral Bleaching

After doing my own independent research (surfing the web and consulting with a co-worker at Tree Limin' Extreme who has a degree in marine biology) I came to the conclusion that all sunscreens are somewhat dangerous to the coral reef, but some are better than others. Here is a list of a few that have the reef's safety in mind:

Badger Balm

Tropical Seas
Coral Safe Sunscreen

Now this is only a very short list of sunscreens that are claimed to be reef safe. On St. Thomas, many dive shops, gift shops, or other convenient stores will sell sunscreens that are reef safe. With the list of the ingredients above and your best judgement, you can pick out something that will be better for the environment than some of the other leading sunscreen brands. 

Some additional advice for those of you who love swimming and snorkeling and who take their skin health seriously: Cover up. There are hats, rash guards, and other water proof clothing that can cover you up while you're in and around the water. Personally, if I know I'll be out on the beach all day, covering up is my best bet to keep me and the coral safe. 

Short Sleeves or Long Sleeves, any bit will do!

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