BANGALORE: As the season changes, our body also responds to the change in temperature. While cooler climates are conducive to increased appetite, increase in temperature reduces the appetite. With the onset of the summer in the city, time has come to switch the diet and the food habits.
Summer is associated with high temperature and humidity which leads to dehydration. Consequently to ensure a fitter body to counteract the heat, city based nutritionists emphasise on the intake of summer fruits to replenish body fluids and keep the system hydrated besides a healthy diet which is easy to digest.
Jyothi Prasad, chief dietician, Manipal Hospital says, “Summer is a good time to eat healthy as the appetite is not as good as it is during the winter. Most people would have eaten a little more in the winters and put on a few extra kilos, but in the summer, one can take advantage of the season to shed it. However, the diet has to be balanced and healthy.”
“Summer is the time when a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables specially melons, oranges and tomatoes are available and one should make use of it without adding a lot of sugar and fat to dishes prepared using them. Not only do they give the required vitamins, minerals and fibre, they are high in water content and hence they hydrate the body,” she adds.
Experts maintain that drinking plenty of non calorific fluids like water, thin buttermilk, coconut water and lemon or tomato juice also help in keeping the body hydrated. Besides, water consumption has to be increased regardless of the activity during this season. Drinking chilled liquids should also be avoided. Cold liquids lead to a slight constriction of the blood vessels in the skin and decrease heat loss, which in turn is not advisable when one is trying to cool down.
Emphasising on the intake of small and frequent meals, Dr Priyanka Rohtagi, chief clinical nutritionists, Apollo Hospital says, “Besides keeping oneself hydrated, small and frequent meals in a day helps in digestion. One should opt for less spicy food and low fat meal, as they also help during summer.