It's a scorcher out there. This summer seems to have given us one of those truly sticky
heatwaves — one that ripples the still air and turns the inside of cars into mobile hotboxes.
Clothing sticks to the skin, it's too hot to even go out and swim, and the only sanctuary
seems to be inside of our own houses.
"I have today's forecast for you… hot! Tsssssss."
Luckily, there are a few ways everybody can keep cool. After all, who hasn't found their
oasis in a sip of ice-cold water in the dead of a humid night? Who doesn't recall the nostalgic
childhood memories of freeze pops on sun-drenched patios? Yes, many of the finest summer foods
are the perfect antidote to this infernal heat.
If you're planning on eating your way through a heatwave, however, it's probably worth knowing
which foods and drinks to go for. This is because, while many foods will hydrate you,
others should be avoided at all costs. Frances Largeman-Roth, a nutrition expert and author,
recently told Today Foods about which produce you'll want to stock up on when the weather
heats up. She listed these foods in order of their hydrating properties: Cucumber, iceberg
lettuce, zucchini, radish, tomatoes, cabbage, strawberries, watermelon, sweet pepper, and
cantaloupe.
Perhaps the key fact in this list is not just that they're nutritious, but that a good percentage
of them are pretty much solid flavored water. Both strawberries and melon are tied at 92%
water, while iceberg lettuce is made up of an astounding 96% of water. Largeman-Roth
also suggested using an aluminum bottle to help keep your water nice and cold. In case
you're wanting to mix it up, she suggested adding a bit of lemon, orange, and even herbs
to your water, too.
Coffees and teas, however, are loaded with caffeine and have very strong diuretic properties,
which is a one-way ticket to dehydration. And while alcohol may be tempting on a hot,
sunny day, it will also throw your liver into full-throttle mode to drain out those natural
toxins. In the end, you'll feel more dehydrated than when you started. However, Frances Largeman-Roth
recommends that, if you do drink, you should make sure to have one glass of water for every
serving of alcohol.
But hold on. What about sodas? They can't be too bad, right? Well, according to a 2016
study by the American Journal of Physiology, soft drinks actually worsen dehydration — so
they're out, too.
So that's drinks covered. But what about food? When you think of summer, you probably think
of roadside BBQ stands, replete with hunks of pulled pork slathered in savory, sweet
sauce, or baseball games where you can chow down on soft pretzels and mustard-glazed hot
dogs.
"People will come, Ray. People will most definitely come."
But these common summer foods may be at fault when you find yourself getting hot under the
collar, as they tend to sit heavy in your stomach. That means your body temperature
will need to rise in order to digest them. Try to keep away from anything too salty,
either, for obvious reasons — after all, salt isn't exactly known for it's refreshing
or hydrating quality.
That's not to say you need to avoid these foods like the plague, of course, and nobody
will judge you for enjoying a burger and beer at the height of summer. You just need to
make sure you have other cold options available to help keep you going. It also helps to have
light, frequent meals throughout the whole day, rather than a huge dinner in a sweltering
kitchen. The reason for this is that digesting too much food at once will raise your body
temperature and simply make you hotter. You'd also do well to use fridge-fresh ingredients
in your meals, so you don't have to waste time lighting up the burners on your stove
to cook.
And if you do have to cook something on the stove, you might wanna turn those fans off
— they'll just blow hot air around and make you feel like you're the one in the oven.
And nobody needs that at a time like this.
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