Have you ever encountered a day that was so hot it made you feel so exhausted? We surely all know the feeling.
Hot days can adversely affect your body heat. Heard of heat stroke? This makes it necessary to stay cool for the body to function well. The discomforting feeling can be very stifling especially if nothing seems to be able to help you cool down.
Food is one of the gifts bestowed upon us by mother nature. It acts as a fuel for the body. And several food items are known for their therapeutic and medicinal properties. What better thing than adding certain foods to our diet to make use feel cool and keep us refreshed. Since our skin takes the most of burnt from heat during summer time, our diet and lifestyle must be considered.
Here we have some foods that can help you feel cool in different ways with different flavors you can enjoy. The next time you live a hot day, consider the following:
Cucumbers
A cucumber is a diuretic. Since it contains over 90% water, it helps you pass urine more frequently. On a hot day, this is a good thing as you will keep taking more fluids which will lower your temperature.
You have heard of the phrase “stay cool as a cucumber.” Well, there is a reason for it. The high amount of water contained within it hydrates your body cells resulting in a cooling effect.
Preparation time is minimal. Slice, dice, and consume. Put them in the fridge for a while to chill then you can eat them immediately after.
Watermelons
A watermelon works in pretty much the same way as a cucumber. They constitute 90% water which hydrates your body cells, cooling you down. It has one of the largest density of liquid along with some sucrose-rich pulp. The natural antioxidants help flush out toxins. Hydration can help keep both interior and exterior body feeling cool.
Detoxifying foods can keep you hydrated longer. How? Because the sweat glands need not to work in overdrive to in flushing out body toxins.
Like cucumbers, watermelons are best when taken while cold. Place them in the fridge for a while to chill and eat them immediately after.
Bananas
Bananas are an astringent food meaning it causes your body tissue to shrink. The shrinking causes an increase in your body’s ability to absorb water.
When more water is absorbed, its volume increases in your cells. The increase in cellular water content leads to lowering of your body temperature.
Citrus Fruits
Hydration and summer times are synonymous. During summers, indulge in your fill of any citrus fruit. The naturally existing water content and vitamin C can help the cause.
You may gulp swigs of chilled orange juice regularly. Besides, who could resist the charm of a lemonade in a hot summer day? Why not add a dash of mint for that extra cooling flavor and healthy digestive properties?
Ice Cream
You can’t talk about cooling your body during a hot day without talking about ice cream. The high, frozen liquid content can help hydrate your body’s cells and lower temperature.
Ice cream also leaves you thirsty afterwards. Therefore, it makes you drink more fluids to further cool you cool down.
Salads
Salads include some water and are typically served chilled, contributing to a cooling effect.
Most salads contain a healthy combination of greens. This makes them easily digestible with significant amount of fiber to keep your GI tract in sound health. Vegetable salads contain Calcium which assists in regulating your body’s heat by coordinating signals with the brain on whether to decrease or increase body temperature.
Smoothies
Smoothies help cool the body when served chilled. The cool fluid can greatly lower your body temperature.
Constituent ingredients can also assist in keeping you from getting hot. If it contains watermelons, cucumbers, greens or astringent foods like bananas, each work in different ways to keep you cool.
Don’t Forget to Refrigerate the Fruits
Keep any fruits you won’t use immediately in the fridge to prevent them from ripening further. The processes that cause ripening also lead to rotting especially during the hot days.
Refrigeration will slow down the rotting process allowing you to get the best out of them the next you need them. It also keeps them chilled which is good for cooling down that you can either eat or make into smoothies when beating the heat.
As a final word, make sure to include and consume as much of the elixir of life as you can. Yes, consume water.
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