Diet Tips for This Summer

Its summer time and you as well as the others are drinking water like thirsty men in desert who have chanced upon a pond! But in the midst of all this guzzling to prevent dehydration we are all neglecting our diet! Sure the body needs oodles of water during summer to replenish the lost fluids, but what many of us fail to realize is that our bodies require a special summer diet too!

What is this ‘Summer Diet’?

Summers sap the energy out of you! The heat becomes unbearable and no matter how much water you drink you are always thirsty, similarly summers tend to take away your appetite. A lack of appetite means that you don’t eat as much food as you regularly would, which means that your body ends up lacking its regular nutrition quota.

Basically a summer diet consists of food that is high in water content, provides ample nutrition and cools your body down while keeping you from dehydration. While you may be wondering about how to get your diet to multi-task, the answer is really simple and can be found in the baskets of your local ‘Bhajiwallah’.

What food items should be present on your dinner plate this summer?

Vegetables – Food items with high water content should be on the top of your list every time you venture out to shop during summers, as the water content in these foods will help hydrate your body from within. Foods such as Lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower and sprouts should be found on your dinner plate this summer as they all serve to cool down your body from within while providing you with the daily quota of nutrition.

Fruits – While the harsh Indian summer sees us Indians gorging on water-melons at every given opportunity, there are other fruits that can be consumed which will cool you from within this summer such as grapes, apples, bananas, pears, peaches and melons. Even citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons are excellent choices of fruits for consumption this summer.

Non Veg – For those who feel empty without their regular quota of meat, there is a tasty alternative available in fish. These fish are not only are cooler on consumption as compared to the red meat or chicken that would have been the preferred fare otherwise, but also have high amounts of fatty acids such as Omega -3 and Omega – 6 which are found in very few other food items such as eggs and some other vegetables.

Soups – Watery broth based soups are an excellent choice inclusion in your summer diet! Popular soups made of tomatoes or mixed vegetables serve the purpose of cooling your body from within. Adding ‘cool’ herbs such as mint or coriander to the soups is another way of ensuring that your piping hot soup cools you down from within.

Curds & Yogurt – Curds and yogurt are a great and healthy alternative to cold drinks and ice-cream as they not only are packed with nutrients, vitamins but also with calcium and also help cool down your body, when the temperatures rise. Both contain vitamin B which also helps soothe the ulcers, allergies and heat boils that tend to appear during summers, from within.

Juices, drink them all – Be it lime juice, coconut juice, green tea or just plain ol’ buttermilk, gulp it down this summer to replenish your body of its lost fluids and also to avail of the benefits of the various nutrients and vitamins found in them.

While the above mentioned are food items which will help you to take care of your body’s rising temperature by cooling it down from within. But like every coin has two sides, there are some food items that you should stay away from this summer!

What food items should you avoid this summer?

Cold drinks and ice cream – Most of us prefer drinking cold drinks or licking ice-creams over water, to cool our parched throats during summers. But while the fizzy cold drinks and yummy ice -creams may seem cool, they actually interfere with the body’s very own cooling mechanism!

Coffee and Alcohol – Coffee and alcohol both act as diuretics – substances that increase urination, which leads to a loss of excessive water from the body. Plus with additives like sugar and other such chemicals, both coffee and alcohol increase your body’s temperature from within.

Avoid fried foods – Junk foods such as samosas, vada-pao’s, burgers and pizzas contain a lot of oil as they are deep fried. Oil contains fat, which on entering the body increases the metabolism rate and thereby has a thermal effect on the body, increasing its temperature!

So, now that you are armed with the do’s and the don’ts of your diet  this summer, we are sure you will go out and enjoy the sun while sipping on coconut water and enjoying a cucumber salad. Happy Summer!

Via: Mediamanage