Cooling down with food
During these hot days, it’s very important not to get even hotter than you already are. It makes sense that you don’t feel like having hot pea soup with smoked sausage right now, but what do you want to eat? Something to help cool you down, we’d say.
There’s a perfectly good explanation for having less or no appetite during periods of heat. We previously wrote that your body simply needs less energy to stay at the right temperature, and on top of that, food doesn’t just provide energy to warm you up—it also produces heat. No thanks. We asked Jaap Seidell, professor of nutrition and health at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, for more tips and tricks.
Plenty of fluids
It sounds obvious, and it is. During hot days, you need to drink, drink, drink. Keeping your fluid levels in order is essential because you simply dehydrate quickly when it’s hot. Since you also need to eat—and don’t have much of an appetite—it’s better to turn to fruit and vegetables rich in fluids. Think: (a salad of) watermelon, strawberries, cucumber and lettuce. It fills you up a little and helps a lot.
Small portions and easy to digest
Again, you probably don’t have much of an appetite. Since you don’t want to make your body work too hard, it’s better to limit protein- and fiber-rich foods. Huh? Aren’t those good for you? Yes, but that’s because they’re harder to digest and therefore release energy over a longer period. Exactly what you don’t want during a period when you’re melting like an ice cream.
Not too cold
Speaking of ice cream. Contrary to what you might expect, it’s not a good idea to eat nothing but ice cream (or lie in an ice bath). Your body interprets this as: alarm, alarm! All hands on deck to warm up! You’ll be hot again in no time. A lukewarm soup, or a few liters of tea, is a better idea.
Spice your life
Spiced and spicy food contains capsaicin. That’s the component that makes people sweat when they eat a pepper that’s (too) hot. And hey, sweating cools you down, right? Exactly. So eat those peppers! Note: not in heavy, rich curries with lots of whole-grain rice—that’s difficult to digest and costs your body too much energy. You’d be better off spending that energy on another dip in the pool.
Read also:
