Summer Diet: Nutrition Mistakes To Avoid In Summer
According to experts, India is bracing for a scorching summer after a bone-chilling winter. With the temperature in most Indian cities already on a high, it almost seems like summer is here and now.
As the temperatures rise in the summer, your body may become dehydrated, which can lead to unwanted health outcomes such as fever and chills. Therefore, it is essential that you maintain a healthy diet and avoid nutrition mistakes [1].
Health problems during summer may range from benign to severe, such as headaches and nausea, as well as dehydration, constipation and diarrhoea. This is why it is important to take special care of your health, primarily through a healthy diet and exercise.
How Important Is A Healthy Summer Diet?
A healthy diet is essential for good health and nutrition. It protects you against many chronic non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. A healthy diet requires consuming less salt, sugar, saturated and industrially produced trans-fats, and eating a variety of foods [2][3].
The importance of this becomes even greater during the summer months.
A person’s diet can either aggravate or alleviate their health problems during the summer months. Nutrition plays an important role in maintaining a healthy mind and body, as well as keeping their energy levels up during long summer days. However, many people do not realize how crucial nutrition is during these hot months.
What is the need for a different diet during the summer?
You must ensure that you include foods that are light and easy on the stomach in your daily diet during the summer because your body’s nutritional requirements differ with each season. As well as protecting you against dehydration, these foods and drinks must maintain an optimal level of energy as well [4].
Summer Diet: Nutrition Mistakes To Avoid
Here are a few nutrition mistakes you may be making in the summer that you should avoid.
1. Overconsumption of caffeine
In summer, drinking too much coffee or tea may cause headaches and make you feel dehydrated as it is a diuretic. The same applies to alcohol consumption [5].
2. Avoiding chicken and fish
In the summer, many people believe that eggs, fish, and chicken produce excessive amounts of heat in the body, so they must be avoided. However, this is not true. In addition to providing lean protein, these three foods are also beneficial for maintaining a healthy weight [6].
However, you might want to reduce your consumption of fattier meats during the summer months.
3. Drinking chilled water after a sunny day
While drinking chilled water after a day out in the sun may sound like the perfect solution to wash away all your problems – it is not such a healthy idea. Experts recommend drinking chilled water after spending the day out in the sun in order to avoid a sore throat and digestive issues [7].
4. Drinking insufficient water
You are at risk of dehydration during the summer months due to the hot and humid weather as well as increased sweating.
In order to stay healthy, it is recommended that you drink an adequate amount of water throughout the day – at least 8-10 glasses – to prevent heat injury, seizures, and urinary or kidney problems, among other problems [8].
5. Consuming salty snacks
When eating salty snacks – particularly packaged chips and cookies, the body retains water to dilute the salt content. As a result, these processed, salty foods lead to swelling in the belly as well as other digestive problems [9].
Replace these processed, salty foods with healthy, homemade ones. In order to maintain a healthy diet during the summer season, bid farewell to these salty snacks. Examples include fruit salads, popcorn, etc.
On A Final Note…
Every season has its own nutritional requirements. Therefore, it is essential to eat a healthy diet that is summer-friendly and avoid nutritional mistakes such as excessive consumption of coffee, alcohol, and not drinking enough water in the summer. What you eat in winter may not have a positive impact on your body in the summer.