18/07/2017
Q.:- How to handle the “Heat” in “Summer”?
A.: Dt. Shilpa Chawla:-
To handle this heat onslaught and ensure your body is as cool as it can possibly be, we suggest a few measures that are easy to follow:-
1. Eat light, small, frequent meals. Start the morning with a sweet, juicy fruit at breakfast. Ripe summer fruits – peaches, plums, melons and pears, are exactly what your skin craves for in the hot season. Citrus fruits are also very cooling. Eat whole or extract their juice, store in the refrigerator and sip often throughout the day.
2. Include salads in your diet. Consuming leafy lettuce and summer greens, corn on cob and cucumbers, in salads are delicious ways to stay cool. These foods contain a significant amount of water and can actually thin in blood, which has a cooling effect. Onions too are great in the summer, because of their ability to beat the heat and provide relief from summer ailments. So, throw in some washed onion slices onto a sandwich, or in your salad.
3. If you get burnt (sun stroke or heat stroke), seek relief by sipping on green tea or take a spoon of onion juice. They are potent antioxidants that can neutralize cellular damage caused by the sun’s rays.
4. To cool the body through sweating, add small amounts of hot spices to food while cooking. Hot peppers, fresh ginger, and black pepper are all great spices to make it really hot for you and then to cool you down.
5. Hydrate your body. Drink at least 8-10 glasses of water a day. Water is the best drink as it doesn’t contain any sugars that can add up to unnecessary calories. For a change, a lemon and honey drink can also instantly replenish your body’s lost fluids and work as an energizer. Drink fluids even if you are not yet thirsty. Once you have the feeling of being thirsty means you are already dehydrated.
6. Wear loose, full sleeved cotton clothes to protect the body from the sun and to aid evaporation of sweat. Use a hat to protect your head from the sun you go out.
7. Stay indoors. Restrict outdoor activities to the cooler parts of the day-early mornings before 10:30am or late evenings after 5:30pm The not so cool.
