Just as the body needs more energy to combat the winters, it needs less supply of energy during the summertime. It is the season for light food and lots of fluids. This is the season when ice-cold fresh lime juice is more popular than coffee and tea unless it is cold coffee or ice-tea. This is also the time of year for salads and cold soups like the Russian salad.
"Cool as cucumber" cucumber are known to have a cooling effect on the body and provide the much-needed water content to keep the normal hydration balance in the body. Melons, gourds, mango, and lemons are available in plenty. These have high water content and are cooling in nature.
Summer foods should contain the least oil and fat, as the body already excretes a lot of sweat.
Pulses that are lighter in nature like moong or masoor should be eaten while the heavier ones should be avoided.
Whole grains like makkai and bajra are definitely to be avoided and so should whole pulses like rajma and chana, simply because they are difficult to digest.
Most people don't like gourds like the bottle gourd, ridge gourd, snake gourd, etc. One should include them in their diet as they are high in moisture content and have a cooling nature. That is the reason that nature has provided them to help us tide over the harsh months of summer.
Radish has a cooling thermal nature. In summers some people suffer from nose bleeding and headache and body rashes. In such conditions, radish juice is very useful as it helps in detoxification and cleansing of the body toxins.
The intake of cool drinks like coconut water, buttermilk, and lime juice needs to be increased, while caffeine-containing beverages like coffee and tea should be minimized.
FEW HEALTHY DRINKS WHICH ONE CAN INCLUDE IN THEIR DIET:
- Coconut water with pineapple
- Fruit yogurt smoothie
- Fruit shake with chia seeds
- Lemon water rose milk
- Fresh fruit punch
- Dry fruit shake with chia seed
- Fresh vegetable juice, etc.