Subject: Sunscreen guide, biohacking sleep & #kaleifornianeats

Hi Friend,

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend. We had no fireworks, but I soaked up time outside with my family, had lots of fresh summer produce, and loved getting back on my bike for the first time all year. We took a long ride each day (kiddies in tow), and it was so nice!

Here are a few resources and products that I wanted to share for this week:

Sunscreen Guide

It's that time of year, and we all know how important it is to protect our skin when we're out in the sun. Here's EWG's Sunscreen Guide if you'd like to learn more about these products, common ingredients, and how to pick the best sunscreen.

Noteworthy Highlights:

There's "scientific evidence that the most common [sunscreen] ingredients are absorbed into the blood at levels that can cause harm, lack adequate safety testing and are formulated into products that may not adequately protect users from dangerous UVA rays."
Tests conducted by the FDA showed that after a single application, "six commonly used chemical active ingredients were absorbed into the body and continued to be absorbed through the skin for days or longer... [These] chemicals are being absorbed in significant amounts and have not been adequately tested for safety."
There are many reasons to be cautious about the common leading ingredient, Oxybenzone, and how it's absorbed:
- "It has been detected in human breast milk, amniotic fluid, urine and blood."
- "It is a potential endocrine disruptor."
- "Children may be more vulnerable to harm from oxybenzone than adults because of the potential for higher absorption and bioaccumulation.'"

Safe Products:

Based on my own research and the EWG guidelines, it's best to pick sunscreen products made with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide for both effectiveness and safety.
Here's EWG's list of the Best Beach and Sport Sunscreens and their picks for Kids. You can also check how they rate other products through their Skin Deep Database.
We've used ThinkSport and ThinkBaby sunscreens and sun-sticks almost exclusively for years. GoThink is currently having a 25% sitewide sale (code: FIREWORKS20), BUT I compared prices and saw that it's still a better deal from Thrive Market.* If you're not a member, you can use this link to get $20 in shopping credit when you sign up.

#Kaleifornianeats

Eggs & Greens

Check out the instructions for my favorite go-to breakfast. I typically use kale, but found that swiss chard and collard greens work nicely as well.

I'm finding that more protein early in the day helps with my energy level in the afternoon. I also like that the cooked kale gets extra calcium and more easily digestible greens into my son's diet (my daughter will indulge me every once in a while, but she isn't into eggs these days).

Primal Kitchen Meals

I'm not one for frozen meals, but these are not normal times(!!). I recently ordered several frozen bowl and skillet meals from Thrive Market*, and I'm finding them tasty and useful to have on hand for lunches. Thrive has a whole selection of these frozen meals that you can see here.They're loaded with lots of veggies and clean ingredients (non-GMO, no preservatives, no canola oil, and many are made with organic ingredients).

Again, if you're not a member, you can use this link to get $20 in shopping credit if you decide to try Thrive Market.

Biohacking Sleep

Sleep is a complicated topic for me, but it's SO important...so I do whatever it takes. I made a video going over my 3 must-haves: darkness, silence and a cool sleeping temperature. The last one can be the hardest to achieve, so I recently bought a ChiliPad to help stay me cool overnight. I wanted one for years and finally decided that my sleep was worth the investment. Stay tuned for a longer post on all-things-sleep. (BTW Chili gives you a 90-day trial period and is having a 20% off sale if you're interested...code: savingsnooze).

That's it for this week. Thank you so much for reading! Wishing you a safe and healthy week ahead.

Be well,

Jess XO

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Please feel free to ask if you have questions about any of these products. I will always give you my honest opinion and do my best to point you in the right direction!