13 Ideas to Beat The Summer Heat

The summers just seem to be round the corner. This is the right time to prep the body for the upcoming season. While the summer heat gets almost unbearable as the towards April and may your body can be made very well prepared for this.

Top up the body’s fluid levels

The heat causes a loss of body water and also electrolytes like sodium and potassium. The increase in the temperature causes the loss of the water from the surface of the skin and also loss via sweat. Increase the consumption of water per se to 15-20 glasses in a day. Consume a lot of fluids as well in the form of coconut water, watery fruits, sherbats, milk based beverages, fruit juices, soups, broths, stews. Lemon water with add electral can also be beneficial.

How do you know that you are well hydrated?

It is very simple to judge this.  Is the number of times you are visiting the washroom and the colour of the urine should be colourless. Summer season leads to a lot of urinary infections only because there is less hydration.

Drinking plenty of water also makes our skin look plump and shiny due to well hydrated skin layers.

Foods that will cool you off

Yes, there are a lot of foods which have a benefit of reducing the body heat and give a cooling effect to the body, here are some of them

• Sabja 

Sabja seeds are seeds of Sweet Basil plant. They are very effective against heat. They can give you excellent cooling effect. You can soak these seeds and add them to your smoothies, shakes, juices, sherbats or simply in milk.

• Gulkand

Gulkand prepared from rose petals is also a very cooler as it reduces down body’s heat. You can have 1-2 tsps of gulkand every day. It is very common to have headaches in summer due to heat, then it is best to have a spoonful of gulkand to relive the pain.

• Sattu

A flour made out of cereals and pulses is also a cooler. This can be added to milk and consumed like a porridge.

• Mint

Adding 3-4 crushed mint leaves in your juices or sherbats can be very beneficial in summers. You can add them in plain water also.

• Kokum

Kokum sherbet is best to chill yourself in hot summer afternoon. Have a glass of kokum sherbet every day. Solkadhi which is prepared with kokum is effective as a cooler.

• Cucumber

This vegetable is high in water, and provides cooling and detox effect to the body.

• Watermelon

This fruit is exclusively designed for summers as it is high in water content. You can have surplus of melons in summer to beat the heat.

• Khus

Khus syrup can be used to cool down the body by adding it in water and have as a sherbet. Khus can be added to you normal drinking water and can be consumed throughout the day.

Now, since there are some foods which cool you down, there are also some which can increase the heat in the body. These foods have to be eaten in limited amounts. Here are 10 Healthy Indian Summer drinks that will keep you cool

FOODS TO AVOID

• Aerated drinks and ice creams

Sodas and colas are surely most commonly had drinks in summer but they can increase heat in the body as they interfere with sweating and digestion process of the body.

Ice creams also, sadly, do not provide any cooling effect to the stomach but increase heat.

• Oily food

Oily food is high in fats and hence difficult to digest which increases in heat production in body.

• Too much spicy food

Too many spices in the food can lead to heat generations due to a compound called “capsaicin” present in chillies.

• Caffeine

Caffeine is present in coffee, tea and caffeinated drinks which are all aerated drinks. So these drinks have to be avoided as much as possible in summers.

• Fruits like mango.

Mangoes are kings of summer fruits and too attractive to avoid but sadly, they generate heat in the body. You can have 1 mango at the most in a day, and while having “aamras” add a dash of desi ghee and cardamom powder to cool down its effect. Here Mango Fruit Myth Busted 

Make use of the summer season for your advantage to loose weight. You can try these 21 Popular Summer Fixes to ward off the heat.

The summer heat increases the body temperature. With the rise in the body temperature there is a rise in the metabolism. This means that you can be at  a better advantage if you are trying to loose weight. So go for it your chances of weight reduction have better chances.