Summer health care tips: 7 ways to keep yourself cool with smart food habits

Eating the right fruits, vegetables and spices can ensure you remain cool during the summer season, suggest experts. Chef Sudhir Nair, Executive Chef at Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield by Marriott, Bengaluru and Chef Kasiviswanathan, the Executive Chef for Radisson Blu Atria, Bengaluru share some easy and interesting tips that will help your body cope with the heat:

1. Opt for a light breakfast: Eat and enjoy a light breakfast every morning comprising of fresh fruits and lots of liquids. Avoid citrus juices and instead opt for tender coconut or melon juice. Cucumber juice or salad would also be a great option. Try and cut down on a heavy breakfast to keep yourself cool and healthy during the summer months.

2. Avoid high starch food: During summer, it is good to avoid high starch foods, especially rice or wheat. Lunch should be the heaviest meal of the day in summers. Keep low on yoghurt consumption. Instead, increase the intake of buttermilk. Keep your food low on spices and high on liquid.

3. Keep yourself away from aerated drinks: Do not drink chilled water or aerated beverages. This is because chilled water or aerated beverages will disrupt the digestive process in the body. Keep a close watch on your sugar consumption. Ice creams though tempting in this time is rich in sugar and cream but an iced fruit lolly would be a legitimate indulgence.

4. Avoid spicy food: Avoid using spices such as mustard, ginger, and chilli. Also, eat less of tomato, peppers and garlic during summer.

5. Use herbs for cooking: Cook with cooling herbs such as fennel, dill, mint, and coriander. Allow use of spices like cumin, cinnamon, green cardamom in your food. Use vegetables such as white pumpkin, broccoli, snake gourds, drumstick and madras cucumber.

6. Boil, steam, and stew: Milk, coconut, butter and ghee in small proportions is cooling for the body. Best methods of cooking these foods would by boiling, steaming and stewing. It is best to avoid fried foods during summer as they would give undue stress to the digestive tract.

7. Enjoy small meals: Enjoying small meals throughout the day during summer is the smartest way to keep yourself cool during the season. Include fruits like ice apples, varieties of melons, sugarcane, and varieties of ripe mango, cashew apples and jackfruit in your diet. All of these are found in abundance in this season.

(Edited by mid-day online desk, with inputs from IANS)

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