What to eat and drink in the heat to feel better: tips

In extreme heat, people can experience loss of appetite, poor sleep, and difficulty concentrating. Along with the usual precautions, it is important to remember that a balanced diet and maintaining water balance will help you survive the hot days.

First of all, you need to drink enough clean water and avoid heavy foods. This is reported by the Good Food portal.

Nutritionist Carrie Torrence explained that higher temperatures and humidity increase the rate of evaporation from the skin. This means that a person needs to replenish fluid levels more often. At the same time, it should be remembered that too much water consumed in a short period of time can lead to the kidneys not being able to maintain electrolyte balance, so the blood becomes very diluted. This affects the way our body functions, for example, it affects blood pressure.

In addition, almost a third of the fluid a person consumes can come from food. What we eat can account for about 20-30% of our fluid intake, and some foods can be more hydrating than others.

According to nutritionists, strawberries, cucumber, zucchini, celery, lettuce, and melon are especially useful in extreme heat. Recipes with a high liquid content can also help you achieve the right level of hydration. Soups, stews, and cereals are all good examples, and of course, can be made with the right seasonal ingredients.

Cold foods, such as ice cream, may seem like an obvious choice when you want to cool down, but the initial cooling effect can be short-lived. This is because eating the food results in a rise in temperature because the digestive process is heat-generating. This, combined with the rapid cooling caused by cold food and drinks, means that the body overcompensates by raising its internal temperature. Thus, a person may feel even hotter after drinking or eating cold drinks.

At the same time, foods that require a lot of effort to digest, such as those rich in protein (meat, fish, and dairy products), sugar, and fiber, should be avoided in the heat. All of these foods generate more heat in the body. One way to mitigate this is to use citrus-rich marinades for meat to break down the protein structure and soak grains to make their fiber more digestible.

As a reminder, during the intense summer heat, employers need to organize an optimal work and rest schedule and take certain safety measures to prevent employees from overheating. In the heat, labor productivity is significantly reduced and the likelihood of accidents increases.

Earlier, the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine published its advice on how to survive the heat.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, extreme heat can have serious health consequences, such as fatigue, dehydration, dizziness, and exacerbation of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, Ukrainians are urged to monitor their health more closely in case of abnormal temperatures.

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