Summer is showing off, treating us with an extreme heatwave every now and then. On one of those scalding days, as you’re wondering how to cool down internal body heat, a random person offers you a hot cup of tea.
“Are you out of your mind? Give me something ice-cold to get me through this inferno!” — you snap. But what if that cup of tea would ease your heatwave, while ice-cream could make it worse?
Today you will learn everything about cooling foods and drinks for your body. If you’ve been looking for foods to eat on a hot day, look no further. We will cover more tips on how to cool down body heat naturally and, of course, answer the opening question for you. So, let’s make hay while the sun shines (and stay cool doing it).
Beat the Heat by Drinking Plenty of Water
Optimal hydration keeps you fresh and vital like nothing else. While it’s essential to drink enough water all year long, you definitely don’t want to ignore this advice during the hot days of summer. Did you already know this? Probably yes. Do you drink enough water? Probably not.
An average person should drink around 64 oz of water per day in moderate weather conditions. These requirements can escalate in the heat, as you lose plenty of water through sweating.
Did you know? During the race, a professional cyclist should drink up to 2 gallons of water on a hot summer day.
Your body uses sweating (perspiration) as the main way to cool down the internal heat. When sweat evaporates from the skin surface, the body cools down. To run this process effectively and reduce your core temperature, it needs a constant supply of water. That’s why drinking more water is the No. 1 way to stay cool in the heat.
How to Stay Hydrated and Cool Down Internal Body Heat
I know, guzzling more than 8 glasses of water can be a challenge. Here’s what else you can do to stay hydrated:
- Infuse water with fruits and herbs to improve the taste and add more health perks.
- Drink fresh juices — squeezed lemon or lime are perfect low-sugar options.
- Eat foods that hydrate your body (more details below).
That being said, you should always keep a glass/bottle of plain water at hand and sip it throughout the day. Limit the intake of sugary and caffeinated drinks as they will force urination and make you thirsty.
Sports Drinks
If you’re working out in the heat, you may want to replenish glucose and electrolytes with sports drinks. The store-bought ones are often loaded with artificial sweeteners and other additives — go for a homemade version that’s much healthier and super-easy to make.
Eat Hydrating Foods to Ward of Heatwaves
Some foods contain plenty of water, and you can use them to prepare light meals for hot weather. The best hydrating foods include:
Fruits and Vegetables
Hot summer days should remind you of how important fruits and veggies are. Most of them consist of over 90% water, helping you stay fresh and hydrated. Besides, they deliver a blast of healthy nutrients that will keep your immunity on guard; some can even protect you against sunburns. Here are the best candidates for your summer plate:
Watermelon
This fruit is a synonym for the summer! Refreshing taste and amazing water content rank it among the best cooling foods for the body. Eat watermelon while it’s still in the season; it will make your hydration enjoyable.
Melon
Same goes for melon, but her orange color hides another awesome benefit: plenty of beta-carotene that protects your skin, enhances tanning, and enables safer sun exposure.
Strawberries
Summer is their season for a good reason (it even rhymes). Strawberries contain plenty of water and keep you hydrated. They are low in calories, yet chock-full of vitamin C and other antioxidants that protect you against free radical damage.
This is particularly important during the summer when your skin is exposed to excessive UV radiation from the sun. Who’s up for some edible sunscreen?!
Grapes
You know the drill: water + low calories + healthy nutrients. Grapes are rich in resveratrol, a potent antioxidant that can protect you against diseases and may even help prevent cancer.
A colorful fruit salad will nourish your body with plenty of water and deliver a combo of nutrients. Can’t think of a tastier and healthier way to fight the summer heat.
Cucumber and zucchini
These two cousins are perfect summer veggies. They contain over 95% water, the rest being healthy fiber and essential nutrients. Cucumber is the main ingredient in many detox drinks, while zucchini is extremely versatile in cooking.
Lettuce
This leafy green never ceases to amaze! From vitamins and minerals to water and fiber, you have countless reasons to enjoy lettuce on the hot summer days. Not to mention it blends well in almost any summer salad.
Sweet peppers
Copy/paste everything I said about lettuce; add rich taste and beta-carotene for safe tanning; there’s your motivation to enjoy sweet peppers this summer!
Don’t limit yourself to fruits and veggies from this list. Summer is a perfect time to enjoy different varieties and prepare low-calorie hydrating meals. Smoothies and salads make it easy to experiment with different combinations and eat a rainbow of natural summer colors.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi5cPW21wgY]
Oatmeal and Cooked Grains
Whole grains abound with complex carbs that give you energy without the sugar and insulin spikes. Carbohydrates (carbon + water) can bind plenty of water; that’s why soaked oatmeal, porridge, and cooked whole grains are great foods to eat on a hot day.
TIP: Cook your grains (or pasta) a bit longer than usual and let them soak up the cooking water for 5-10 minutes afterward. They will hydrate you and help you cool down internal body heat.
Need a quicker solution? Soak oatmeal and flaxseed (or chia seeds) in water for 10-15 mins and top them with strawberries. Your light meal for hot weather is ready!
Consume Warm Drinks and Spicy Food
Here’s one interesting way to beat summer heat naturally. Although it seems counter-intuitive, you might want to go for a cup of warm vegetable soup with some cayenne pepper.
“Sure, it provides water and electrolytes—but how can a warm spicy meal reduce my body temperature?” Once again, the answer hides in sweating. In this interview, Prof. Peter McNaughton from the University of Cambridge explains how it works and reveals more tips to cool down internal body heat.
A warm drink will raise your temperature just enough to trigger sweating. If your skin surface is exposed (hopefully to a breeze) and the air is not too humid, your body can cool down by perspiration and drop its temperature below the initial point.
“Whilst people often feel hot during the consumption of the hot drink they will feel cooler once they are sweating,” concludes McNaughton. Hot spices like cayenne pepper enhance this effect. Same goes for your morning cup of tea, so there’s no reason to avoid it on the hot days.
If you’re interested to learn more about hot tea and thermoregulation, check out this article at the The Conversation.
Warming Foods
Ice cream
Store-bought ice cream usually comes packed with calories from refined sugar and trans fats. It’s not the wisest choice, regardless of the season. If you’re thinking: “who cares, I just want to cool down this heat” — think twice! Your body will probably over-compensate for this cooling effect and raise your core temperature.
So, that random person offering you a cup of tea on the hot summer day is actually right. In the long run, tea would cool down your internal body heat better than ice cream!
Ice-cold Drinks
While cold drinks create an immediate cooling sensation, in the longer run they may sometimes raise the body’s overall temperature. They’ll help with hydration, which is a big deal, but if you’re in a dryer climate, you’ll probably have a greater overall cooling effect from that hot cuppa tea.
Deep-fried foods
Here’s what makes them a poor choice, particularly for the summer:
- Sodium: traps water in your body and impair thermoregulation.
- Trans fats, acrylamide, and loads of ‘empty’ calories: bad for you all year long
Heavy high-protein meals
Does your appetite decline on hot days? Listen to your body!
Food digestion requires spending more energy and increasing the body’s core temperature. In general, protein takes more energy to digest than carbs and fats. Cut your body some slack by choosing lighter summer meals instead of high-protein ‘bombs’.
Wrapping It Up
We all enjoy the perks of summertime, but the waves of extreme heat often spoil the party. Certain foods can help with hydration and cooling down your body, while others can make things worse.
I hope this article will equip you with knowledge and inspiration to prepare light meals for the hot weather. Now that you know some of the best cooling foods for the body, you can put these tips into action and make the rest of this summer more enjoyable!
What is your favorite summer food? Did you find the tea advice surprising? Please share your thoughts in the comment section. Thanks a lot for reading!
Credits
- Watermelon by Pexels
- Cool Drinks with Mint and Citrus by Photo MIX
- Desert Sands and Blue Skies by Faulkenpost
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