Cooling Summer Foods

Gear up for the rise in mercury level. Eat the right foods that will keep you hydrated and healthy
It's that time of the year when you start reaching for diet sodas, ice cubes and the remote to the air conditioner. But the quick relief can lead rather quickly to the opposite of what you intended. Anything lower than your actual body temperature produces a cooling effect only initially. Then, after about 20 minutes, the opposite happens.
Drinking very cold liquids may lead to constriction of the blood vessels and decrease heat loss from the body, which is bad when trying to cool down.
So stock up that refrigerator and kitchen with the right foods, not just to keep the temperature from raging but also to look and smell nice.



Fruit with yoghurt: is an ideal combination for breakfast in really hot weather. Fruit, which has a high water content, will help maintain your body fluid, which will be lost more rapidly through sweat, the body's mechanism for cooling down in the heat.
Bio yoghurts can promote friendly gut bacteria, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus. This protects against food poisoning, cases of which dramatically increase during hot temperatures when it is difficult to keep food fresh.




A baked potato or pasta salad: carbohydrate-rich foods can help to combat heat exhaustion. It is recommended to eat regular small, starchy carbohydrate snacks during the day, such as pitta bread, to keep your body's blood-sugar and energy levels even.
Other ideal carbohydrate foods include baked beans, rice, fruit, yoghurt and milk. And we should eat spicy foods: "Although this may be the last thing you fancy in hot weather, curries and chillies can stimulate heat receptors in the mouth, enhance circulation and cause sweating, which cools the body down




Marinated meats on barbecues: marinades reduce the levels of cancer-risk chemicals being produced when meats are charcoaled black. "Scientists aren't sure why this is, but they believe it could be because the ingredients in most common marinades are high in cancer fighting antioxidants. These include vinegar, citrus juices, herbs, spices and olive oil




Get Green
If a big, leafy, green salad is all you can manage to eat on a sluggish summer day, that's just fine. Greens are nature's blood thinners, and they can help you release body heat and cool down. A spinach salad with a burst of summer strawberries (makes seasonal eating refreshing.



Make Room for the Mint:
Alcohol is a warming food, which dilates blood vessels and leads to dehydration, thereby raising your internal temperature. If you must have a summer cocktail, make it a mojito Menthol, one of mint's main components, triggers sensors in the body that cause you to feel cool. Mint also has some spicy qualities, which get that all-important sweat flowing. It is also known to have calming properties, so you can stay cool in more ways than one.

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