The right food and drink can help us to better endure the current temperatures. We show 9 common mistakes that you should avoid.
We have trouble sleeping, feel lethargic, get headaches or can’t concentrate – our bodies react strongly to the hot summer weather. Eating the right diet can help you endure the heat better.
However, we often eat exactly the wrong thing and make our condition even worse. You should pay attention to these things:
1. Heavy eating in the evening
When the temperature is high, we often don’t feel an appetite during the day – and then compensate for this with a barbecue in the evening. But be careful: A high-fat meal in the evening can prevent us from getting a restful sleep at night. Therefore, before going to bed, we should primarily eat light foods, such as rice with vegetables or salad.
2. Drink a cold beer
In order to cool off when the temperatures are high, people like to have a cool beer, especially in the evening. However, alcohol is not a good idea in the heat: it also removes water and valuable minerals from the body – and we are more susceptible to heat stroke, writes the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA).
3. Eat low in salt
You really shouldn’t eat too much salt. However, if we sweat a lot at high temperatures, we also need more salt. So if you are suffering from circulatory problems at the moment, you can consciously add a little more salt to your food.
4. Drink hot coffee
Hot coffee also makes us sweat in a hot summer. The caffeine it contains also has a diuretic effect. Normally, the body can compensate for the loss of fluids well. When it’s hot, however, our body loses a lot of water anyway due to a lot of sweating. You should therefore be a little more careful in summer: drink a little less coffee than usual and let it cool down before you drink it.
5. Leave your groceries at home and transport food to be grilled far away
Bacteria multiply particularly well in the heat and high humidity. Meat, poultry, egg dishes, dairy products and fish are ideal breeding grounds for microorganisms. Anyone who interrupts the cold chain for too long runs the risk of salmonella.
Therefore: groceries belong directly in the fridge. At least salmonella cannot multiply below six degrees. In this way you not only save your health, but also your food from the garbage can.
6. Refresh yourself with lemonade
This doesn’t just apply to heat: those who frequently consume sweetened beverages supply the body with unnecessary calories. Lemonade, for example, can contribute to obesity. Better to use so-called infused water: tap water with a squeeze of lemon juice or a few slices of cucumber. It tastes much better and comes without sugar.
7. Eat fatty meat and sausages
In order for our body not to overheat at high temperatures, it has to work hard. Heavy food, such as high-fat meat, is an additional challenge because it takes a lot of effort to digest – we should therefore particularly avoid such meals when it is hot. In general, it makes more sense to eat little or no meat anyway. This is better for the climate, the animals and the environment.
Opt for fruit instead. This provides vitamins, minerals and water. Melons, tomatoes and cucumbers are particularly suitable as a snack in summer because they have a high liquid content.
8. Avoid spicy foods
Chili, garlic, paprika, pepper – hot spices make us sweat. Especially chili makes us sweat on the skin. In fact, the pod cools the body down. It works like this: The pungency molecule capsaicin it contains signals to the brain that there is a heat source in the mouth. This so-called phantom heat triggers a cooling reaction in the body.
When it is hot, however, we benefit from another property of spicy foods: they often contain ingredients that inhibit bacterial growth. You should therefore not do without spicy food in the heat.
9. Drinking (ice) cold drinks
Drinking a lot is important, the German Society for Nutrition (DGE) recommends around 1.5 liters of water. In high heat, the body needs a lot of fluids.
However, cold drinks should only be taken in sips, as these drinks have a cooling effect. If you drink too much cold water quickly, you risk stomach ache – and rob the body of additional energy because it has to warm up cold liquids in order to be able to process them. It is therefore best to drink lukewarm beverages when it is hot.
