INTERNATIONAL NUDIST

Though nudity is often taboo in modern societies, frequent nudity can have health benefits. Obviously, if the air temperature is too cold, your environment or activity is dangerous, dirty, abrasive or otherwise hostile, nudity may not be so healthy. However, if you are somewhere where nudity is safe, legal and acceptable, such as home, private backyard or a nudist resort, you can be doing your body good!

Here are a few health benefits:

• Vitamin D - Sunlight exposure to the skin allows your body to make it’s own vitamin D. If you are nude, you are creating more vitamin D than if you only have, say, your face and arms exposed to the sunlight. Of course be careful of too much sun, which can lead to skin cancer. A good rule is to avoid sunburn. It’s your body’s way of saying you’ve been in the sun too long!
• Skin health - The drying effect, UV light and warming by the sun is good for many skin conditions. Ultra-violet light helps lessen the symptoms of psoriasis and kills surface fungus on the skin. The increased air flow allow parts of the body to air-out and this helps prevent fungal, bacterial infections as well as bad odors.
• Keeping cool - The human body has an amazing ability to regulate it’s temperature, especially to stay cool enough as the temperature climbs and humidity increases - if it’s allowed to. The body can cool much more effectively when nude. Clothes often do what you’d expect - they insulate! Various ideas about long sleeves being better to wick away sweat or keep out the heat are mostly BS. I always have to laugh when I see western anthropologists wearing a lot of clothing when studying nude natives in hot, humid areas. The westerners claim it’s somehow better to wear clothing in the environment…implying that somehow the natives didn’t figure that out over thousands of years!
• Comfort/Stress-relief - Comfort is like the opposite of pain and stress. Nudity, in a comfortable environment can relax your mind and your body, lowering stress hormones.
• Digestive tract flow - Few people realize how everyday clothes constrict the proper flow of digesting food in the intestines. Nudity lets things move naturally.
• Body awareness - Nudity can be indirectly healthy because when nude, you are more likely to think about your body and see signs of unhealthiness needing treatment. If others see you nude, they could point out health-related concerns as well.
• Nude exercise - Nudity can be a great way to enjoy exercise. With nudity, you have more freedom of movement, greater comfort and a greater ability to cool naturally and effectively by sweating.

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A nudist spring break is the most awesome way to break, for college students or anyone else who is lucky enough to escape northern climate this time of year. Having endured a North American winter and finding a warm beach of more southerly lattitudes, it feels great to have the warm, ocean breeze against your skin. Why not take it all the way and get nude? Well, of course, some college students at conventional spring breaks do get nude, but we’re not talking about the actions meant to shock or arouse, of questionable taste - we’re talking about places where nudity is totally acceptable and, in fact, preferred or even required. There are many nudist resorts and beaches, from the Caribbean, Florida, Mexico, Texas and California, where you can be as nude as you want to be for spring break.

Now it’s usually not required that you call yourself a “nudist” or “naturist” at these places. It’s understood that most college students or other young adults are not yet ready to accept that label. For some, nudity is a short-term experiment. For others, it is the start of a lifetime of enjoyment of the nudist/naturist lifestyle.

Who do you go with? It may be that your friends you’d normally spring break with are afraid of getting nude in front of strangers. However, many college students are quite willing to try a low-key nudity experience, so float the idea by them, maybe as a joke at first to check their reaction. If nothing else, you could get some different friends, meet some online to meet you at the nudist place or just go alone. On the other hand, if you happen to have nudity-tolerant friends already, you’re good to go!

If money is an issue, check into nudist resorts in your own state (or one nearby). Sure, it may not be an exotic, tropical destination, but certainly would be a delightful way to say “hello” to spring.

Nude Beach or Nudist Resort for Spring Break?
Whether you go for a nudist resort or nude beach (or both!), depends on how you’d like to experience nudism and your tolerance for the occasional gawker. In a typical nudist resort, gawkers are forbidden, therefore only other nude people seriously interested in, or trying out nudism will be there. Because only real nudists are there, there is a more trusting envionment, which makes for easier socialization, if you want to socialize. If you don’t want to talk to anyone, find a large resort with nature trails and plenty of space where it’s easier to get away, alone or with your partner or friends. 

A nude beach, on the other hand, typically has gawkers to some degree (people who go just to look at naked people), and so you have to have more of a tolerance for that and other potntial social annoyances at a public nude beach. This problem is worse at urban nude beaches, like Haulover Beach (Miami, Florida area), where people can easily walk literally right off the street, taking little effort to gawk at you. More rural or difficult-to-reach nude beaches, like Black’s Beach in California, however, have less of a gawker problem. It’s a matter of who has more willpower to get to remote beaches, nudists or gawkers, and usually the nudist wins out here.

Whereever you decide to go, have fun, be careful and wear that sunscreen!

A few nude beach and nudist resort listings for spring breakers:

Haulover Beach, North Miami Beach, Florida:
While the people environment here has been described by some as “socially cold”, the beach and water here are warm and beautiful! South Beach is just a few minutes from here, so after a day at the nude beach, a nap at the hotel, you can have a blast at the South Beach clubs all night long.

South Florida Free Beaches: creators & mentors of Haulover’s clothing-optional naturist family beach in Miami.
Haulover Beach on Wikipedia

Sunsport Gardens, near West Palm Beach, Florida:
SunsportGardens.com

Black’s Beach, San Diego, California:
Black’s Beach on Wikipedia
Black’s Beach Bares
Black’s Beach on About.com/Calfornia Travel

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Is nudism good and healthy for the environment? You bet!

As global warming and other results of human civilization threaten the environment, the nudist lifestyle could have a real effect for the better!

Air conditioning
This is a biggie. Enormous amounts of electricity, and therefore more fossils fuels, are used to run our air conditioners every summer or even all year in warmer climates. If the earth warms further, air conditioners will be used even more. But nudists can tolerate a few more degrees in temperature increase without the use of air conditioning, especially with a little air movement generated by a fan (which uses much less energy than an air conditioner). If more people went nude when it is warm, it could significantly help with energy costs, environmental impact and your own pocketbook! The flip-side is that nudists could use more energy in the winter to stay warm, so nudists might need to clothe when it is cold to save on energy, but at least nudists have the option to remove clothing when it is warm. Nudists, therefore, have more potential for environmental friendliness than a non-nudist overall.

Laundry
The more you go nude, the less laundry to have to do, thereby saving more energy, water and soap (which can take more energy to produce and can pollute the environment).

Nature-Consciousness
Nudism, especially outdoor nudity can give you a more intimate awareness of nature. In fact the term “Naturist” or “Naturism” alludes to the nature-centric principles of naturism and nudism. The lifestyle, thought, natural surroundings, are all more conducive to greater appreciation of the envionment, and nudists less often require the concrete and steel world of textiles. Outdoor-intensive activity such as hiking provides even further awareness of the environment, often leading to greater concerns for it.

Indeed it seems the whole mindset of nudism/naturism goes hand-in-hand with being green, and nudists, as a group, tend to be concerned for the environment, so you have a social network that agrees with you. There are so many things connected to nudism, such as good health, working from home, and living simply, that are also great for the environment. So now you know what to do - save the planet by living nude!

More Links:
How Nudism Can Save You Money

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You haven’t lived until you’ve hiked naked!

Have you ever been walking along, in the wilderness or otherwise and thought “Gee, this would feel even better with out clothes”? Hiking nude may be the ultimate experience of freedom. Nothing between you and the air allows you to totally relax and become one with the environment.

Now, finding a place to hike nude is not always easy. You may be lucky enough to live near a nudist resort with adequate trails. If not, you can find sufficiently remote areas of state and federal parks where you are  unlikley to encounter anyone. Usually if you do encounter someone, they will not report you nor have an unfavorable reaction. It is considerate, however, to have a pair of shorts handy in case you see them before they see you. Types of suitable terrain could be anything hikable, from forests, to mountains to deserts. Your items you want to carry can be kept in a back-pack or fanny-pack. As with clothed hiking, keep in mind sunscreen and insect-repelling needs. 

Check these links for more information on hiking nude:
Nude Hiking on National Forest Lands (legalities, etc.)
Naked Hiking on Wikipedia
Nude Hiking and Soaking in the Pacific Northwest
Hiking Nude, on BodyFreedom.org
Hiking Naked Forums (hikingnaked.com)
Nude Hiking is for Real
Hiking Nude. What It Feels Like!
Roger’s Nude Hiking Page
Arroyo Seco River Hike
Nude Hiking in the Northwest: A Mini-Guide
Steve’s Northwest Nude Hiking: reactions!
Naturist Hikers Yahoo group
Naked Hikers Yahoo group
Nude Hiking in the Yukon & Alaska
Nude Hiking Etiquette & Tips
Hiking au’ natural in the Pacific Northwest (slideshow)
Go Nude Hiking on 43things.com
Naked hiking on Wikipedia
Nude Hiking on Flicker
Nude hiking thread on Nudist-Resorts.org
Welcome to Bare Country (Canadian naturist hiking)
Hiking Naked Forums
Randonnues (French)
Naked-Hikers / Bushwalkers Australia
Nackt in den Bergen (German)
North Florida Naturist Hiking & Camping
Randonue ou Randonnue (French)
SE Queenland Nudists (Australia)
Shane’s Hiking Journal
Nude bush walks article
Nude Hiking in Washington’s Cascade Mountains
Five days of nude hiking (barepacking) in the Ocala National Forest
Nude Hiking in Washington’s Cascade Mountains
Naked Rambler official site
Singles Outdoor Club Naturist Walks (UK)
Nude Hiking in Washington’s Cascade Mountains
ScoutLeben: gebührenfreie Natur- und Wildnislehren (German)
Nackt Wandern (German)
Nackt Joggen (German)
WaldFKK forum (German)
NacktWandern.org (German)
Hiking Naked - Naked Body, Naked Mind

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What if you could live, work and play nude - rarely, if ever, needing to get dressed for anything at all? There are many of us serious nudists who would idealize such a life. Unfortunately it’s not practical for very many at this time, but that could change as the nudist industry continues to develop. Most people who actually get to live and work nude are either a nudist who works from home (and therefore can be in any state of dress), or one who lives in a nudist resort and works there too.

Working Nude/Nudist Employment:
A nude work-at-home job is easier to find for most people. Most don’t live as close as they’d like to a nudist resort, especially one that has good job openings available. Again, this could change as more resorts are developed and more employees are needed to run them. In addition, there might be small businesses owned by nudists who would have no problem with you being nude, whether it be a small call center, other office work, a greenhouse or anything that was sufficiently isolated from the public. Of course, employees would have to keep the dress code kind of a secret, to avoid a media circus! As usual, people tend to be a little more relaxed about nudity in Europe. In 2001, a Dutch call center offered a clothing-optional workplace for employees, in response to a tight labor market. See more info about working nude on our Nudist Employment page for more.

Nude Residence:
Living in a nude community is quite easy to do, provided you have the money and are willing to relocate to a nudist resort, that is. Of course this is not easy for most people, and they might feel it would isolate them from family and friends. So there has always been a subset of nudists who actually live in resorts long-term, but for many, the practical issues keep them immersed in a textile life, escaping to nudist locations only on weekends or holidays. Nude residence is also an improving situation, as more resorts are built, and budding competition causes existing resorts to do better and build more rentals. Florida resorts seem to be leading the way with new resort developments, but there are other resort developments underway in several U.S. states and international locations. Check our Nudist Real Estate page for updates on the possibilities out there!

The ultimate nude living might be some future nudist utopian island where clothing is universally taboo and where a total nude-friendly economy could develop. But for now, learn more about the options available and do your part to develop nude living options for others.

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Recent studies have showed surprising cancer-prohibitive effects of sunlight. It is well-documented that excessive sunlight exposure increases the rate of skin cancers. But now studies show that the incidence of some other, internal cancers are reduced.

Studies have revealed cancer-prohibitive effects of vitamin D on colon and breast cancers so far. Vitamin D is available from some foods, and is also produced by a reaction of the skin to sunlight. A severe deficit of vitamin D can cause disease such as rickets. Of course, if lighter skin people benefit from sunshine, darker-skinned people need even more for the same effects.

So why is this on a nudist blog? Nudists are generally sun-lovers, getting more sunlight exposure than the average person. A nude body also gets more sunlight than someone with a conventional bathing suit. Sunbathing for the sake of getting sunlight exposure/vitamin D is therefore a little safer nude, allowing one to absorb a given quantity of sunlight, spread over a little more of the body than would be the case in a bathing suit (thereby allowing one to absorb a quantity of sunlight with less time in the sun).

Of course, take into consideration your own skin’s ability to handle the sun. A dark complected person may be fine all day in the sunshine, whereas a light-complected person may burn in minutes. Sunburn should always be avoided, so regardless of your skin tone, know your own limits.

Scientific American: A Protein Twofer That Triggers Tanning and Protects against Skin Cancer
Researchers find that a protein activated to repair DNA damage also activates tanning, which can protect against melanoma.

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