High temperatures and humidity making you want to stay indoors this Summer? Don’t sweat it! Here’s my list of food habits that’ll help you stay cool… literally!
Eat Your Water
The rule of thumb is to drink 8-10 glasses of water in a day to keep yourself hydrated. Especially after enduring the scotching midday heat, always opt for normal room temperature water and not refrigerated water, this helps you to cool and hydrate better; this is the first tip. But why do I emphasize on drinking more water? This is because water is a coolant and helps regulate body temperature. It also flushes out toxins from the body, acting as a cleansing agent.
Eat Light
Many of us don’t feel like eating heavy meals on hot days, which you might otherwise love to feast-on when the weather is more pleasant. This is a natural way for the body to keep cool, as sticking to several lighter meals throughout the day can really help keeping the body cool. After we eat, the thermic effect of food takes place wherein our body temperature rises as we digest food; larger the meal, greater the thermic effect. In addition, avoid spicy food on hot days as the compound capsaicin (which gives spicy food its heat) raises body temperature and makes you sweat. Mild spices like cumin, coriander, ginger, fenugreek, mint, cardamom, and fennel should be incorporated in the diet.
Choose Cooling Foods
Cooling foods include: Bamboo shoot, banana, bitter gourd, grapefruit, lettuce, seaweed, star fruit, sugar cane, water chestnut, watermelon, lotus root, cucumber, barley, bean curd, fish, egg white, marjoram, oyster, pear, peppermint, radish, strawberry, tangerine, and yogurt, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, corn, tomatoes, pineapple, turmeric.
Freeze Your Favorites
Something ice cold always sounds good on a hot day, but ‘slushies’ and ice creams are high in calories. Instead, try freezing your favorite fruits and veggies. Cool and sweet surprises like frozen grapes, popsicle, cold coffee, iced tea and frozen yogurts are healthier choices to cool the system and satisfy the sweet urges.
Drink healthy liquids
Pomegranate juice is one of the best options among summer drinks, the others being watermelon juice, tender coconut water, lemonade, coriander ginger tea, buttermilk or ‘lassi’, and vegetable juices like those of cucumber, pumpkin and mint. This point is avoidable for sugar patients.
Juice of Coriander and Mint Leaves
Extracting the juice of coriander or mint leaves and drinking it with a pinch of sugar is an easy home remedy to bring down the body heat or even using them in seasoning are buttermilk is good.
Tulsi Seeds and Fennel Seeds
A concoction of Tulsi seeds mixed in some rose water is known to cool your system instantly. Fennel seeds are also known as a cooling spice. Soak a handful of them overnight in water, strain and drink the water in the morning. This is will keep your body cool and guard you against the heat.
Aloe Vera is high in vitamins and minerals. Besides this, it is known as an Adaptogen it boosts the body’s natural ability to adapt to the external changes and stimulates the defensive mechanisms of the body. Adaptogens are known to stabilize the various systems of the body.
Things to Avoid
Avoid consuming colas, alcohol, frozen or iced drinks, excess coffee and tea. Also refrain from having too much hot, spicy, sour and salty foods—they don’t go well on hot days. Keep your intake of green or red chilies, strong spices like pepper, cloves and mustard seeds, garlic and onion to a bare minimum. Processed and preserved foods are best avoided. Meat which is heavy to digest is not a good diet option on hot days.
Make a Cooling Mask
Food can cool you down in more ways than just eating it. Foods such as yogurt and cucumber have cooling properties that are great for the skin as well. On a hot day, when you are feeling flushed; try making this cooling yogurt and cucumber face mask. To make it, chop 1 peeled, medium cucumber and combine it with 6 ounces plain yogurt and 1 tsp. nonfat powdered milk in a processor and process until smooth and well combined. Wash and dry your face. Using your fingertips, apply the mask all over your neck and face, avoiding the eye area. Keep the mask on for 10-15 minutes and then wipe off with a warm damp cloth. Finish the process by splashing your face with cold water and drying with a clean, soft towel. You will feel cool and refreshed!
Mix some sandalwood powder and apply it on your forehead and chest. Its cooling properties also bring down your body temperature.
Mid meal snacks to keep us cool in the heat
- Tender coconut water with crystal sugar and cardamom
- Jal jeera made by mixing lemon juice, cumin powder and salt to taste.
- Freshly made lassi 100 – 150 ml with few spoons of rose water. You can also add crystal sugar and cardamom to it. Or you can have lassi with coriander or mint leaves and salt; or with a splash of salt, cumin and asafoetida (hing).
- Drink 200ml of Nimbu pani (with pinch of salt and sugar) OR Gatorade OR have a fruit before or after the walk or any other form of exercise if you suffer from low B.P or sugar dip.
- Make smoothies made of fresh berries, low fat yogurt, mint leaf and ice cubes.
Beat the scorching Summer heat with the above cool tips!!
Stay cool, stay happy!