By Dr. Siddhant Bhargava
Fitness and Nutritional Scientist
In summer it is important to drink water in order to keep oneself protected from the scorching rays of the sun and other summer ailments. The summer season brings the sweltering heat, heat stroke, problems of dehydration, reduced energy levels, scorched skin and an upset tummy.
While we sweat buckets, we tend to feel hungry and thirsty. Hence, when the temperature level rises, we resort to unwholesome and unhealthy foods and drink calorie dense and sugar-loaded fizzy drinks to beat the heat. While giving fleeting relief, they leave us with unwanted calories complimented health threats as well.
Ditch these food foes and go for the healthier options that summer offers you in abundance. Choose from the wide variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs and other refreshing cooling foods that are loaded with the highest amount of minerals. Minerals, vitamins and nutrients that will aid in refilling your lost energy levels. Moreover, it is a thumb rule to drink about eight glasses of water in order to keep yourself hydrated and more so in the summers. You must note that there are many other ways through which you can consume water. You can satisfy your thirst by consuming some of the immensely hydrated vegetables, fruits and edibles that are sure to keep you restored as the temperature sores.
Have a look at the below-mentioned healthy hydrating foods with high water content and low calorie level that will keep you hydrated and cool all through the summers:
Water Melon – Comprising of about ninety nine percent of water content in it, this delicious fruit is copiously available during the summers. The fruit aids in keeping the tummy cool, the fruit is full with a compound named as lycopene which can guard your skin from the damage caused by the sun. Ditch the glass of aerated drink and go for a natural water melon juice that is full with rich nutrients which can also decrease the process of ageing and acne problems.
Mint – Mint and peppermint contain cooling properties that impart aromas that can mainly enable in beating tiredness when it gets hot. You can opt to drink a revitalizing herbal tea or add a couple of mint leaves into your favourite fruit salad. You can also add this herb in the form of chutney or include it in your buttermilk. It holds a spot in the list of hydrating summer edibles owing to the fact that it restores an upset tummy and combats allergies like heat rashes. It can work smoothly as a liver cleanser too.
Green Leafy veggies – Leafy greens like spinach, kale, arugula, and iceberg lettuce are abundant in water content and can help in dropping your body temperature. You can contemplate making a raw spinach salad or add a few leaves to your sandwich.
Cucumber – By aiding your overall body to detoxify, this inexpensive food is packed with water content and plays a role of an excellent coolant. This crisp and cool revitalizing green will stave off problems of constipation, improve your immunity and tame inflammation while also soothing a sunburn. Along with detoxifying your body, the presence of sulphur and silicon in cucumber is excellent to enhance hair growth and volume. The best way to eat cucumber is adding it in salads or drinking cucumber juice.
Curd – Curd offers gut-friendly microorganisms that helps in the process of digestion during summers. It is a natural coolant which is rich in probiotics, your gut requires these gut-friendly bacteria all the more during the summer to aid in digesting food smoothly. You can eat curd in the form of buttermilk, smoothies, raita and sweet lassi.
Coconut water – Consuming coconut water can help you by maintaining electrolyte constancy in your body. It’s an excellent summer drink that along with supporting you to beat the hot weather by keeping you hydrated, also eases in increasing your digestive aptitude. Additionally, by upholding the electrolyte balance in your body, it aids to foster cell growth, controls blood pressure and above all acts as a natural diuretic.
Onions – Protect yourself from a sun stroke by making onions a part of your daily diet. Onions can actually assist you battle against a sun stroke since it is an excellent heat absorbent. Moreover, they can help to fight against allergies, thanks to their compounds known as quercetin. Add it in your daily recipes to gain its health benefits.
Pineapples – Uplift your digestive capacity through pineapples. Energizing, cooling and healthy, pineapples are packed with anti-inflammatory enzymes that help in elevating your digestive capacity. One of the enzymes, named as bromelain, is very good for breaking certain proteins in your abdomen that can contribute to bloating.
Corn – Safeguard yourself from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun by adding some corns to your daily meals. The corn comprises of phytochemicals which are lutein and zeaxanthin facilitate you effectively to beat the ultraviolet rays. Furthermore, they are copious source of fibre.
These list of summer-friendly healthy foods and drinks that will aid in keeping you hydrated, relax your skin and keep your tummy cool. The bonus point is these foods don’t make their presence felt in your waistline.
