Foods That Provide Relief From Summer Heat

Did you know that solid foods can soothe and cool a body as well as hydrating fluids to help keep our body's temperature down? Here are our recommendations to give you some food for thought.never leaving the best nutrient, "H2O" far behind.
Deep red watermelons: The name conjures up a satisfying and thirst quenching feeling of coolness as you feel a drop in your body temperature. It's our choice of a `summer' food because of its high water content (96%). What's even better is that it is very low in calories. One cup of the cut fruit (approximately 150g) gives you a mere 52 calories.

The satisfying cantaloupe: is another melon that has been unappreciated for its nutrient benefits by most of us. This melon also contains a lot of water (Almost 95%); and is equally low in calories as the watermelon.

Citrussy fruits: Almost all citrus foods like oranges, sweet limes, and lemon are cooling. These are as juicy within, as they look from outside. You can have them whole or extract their juices and even, store it for a day without any preservatives. Get creative and make mock tails of a combination of citrus fruits & have them with a dash of lime. Lemon, in particular, is our pick of the season because of its high vitamin C content (makes you stronger to ward off infections) & also due to its detoxifying properties (makes expulsion of toxins from the body more efficient).

Colorful veggies: The best summer diet solution would be to include large portions of salads in your diet, (A word of caution: Take extreme care while having raw foods outside, during this season.) Onions are a great option; people of tropical countries everywhere, include onion in their diets because of the ability of onions to beat the heat and provide relief from summer ailments.

Ideally your salads can contain onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. with a dash of fresh lemon juice to add the zing; cucumbers require a special mention because of their high water content (96%), making it a natural hydrant -a must for glowing skin!!

You can also include some mild spices like sesame, mint & green coriander to the salads to enhance the cooling effect. But beware of raw foods, as they are often the main cause of many food-borne illnesses.

Meat: Consume more sea-food this season as it is considered to be cooling; but remember that they are very high in cholesterol. So keep the portion sizes in mind. Keep poultry and meat to a minimum.
So, choose wisely & enjoy a deep chill this summer!!

By, The Dietetic Team @ NutritionVista.com