Superfoods for Summer!
You might not know, but summer is not only a perfect season to flip-flop, but also it is a perfect season to change your diet. More often being outdoors and sweating increases your risk for health problems such as skin sensitivities, mineral and vitamin deficiencies and dehydration. Do you want to know the simple and delicious solution for this? Eat seasonal and local fruits. Julie Kaye, RD, a registered dietician, MPH and CDN in New York says that, the nutrients present in them are their peak in summer. But they are not the only food that will make your body feel and look good during the summer.
Summer has arrived and we all want to enjoy this wonderful season of the year. You can go for trekking, camping, swimming, enjoy night with delicious foods around and playing around the beach.
But in order to enjoy each day of the warm sunny days of summer, you will first need to keep yourself free from some of the common summer health problems, such as dehydration, digestive problems, sun damage and heat stroke. You can get out these health issues if you make a smart dietary for yourself.
The summer growing season produces an abundance of delicious, fresh and healthy vegetables and fruits in the market. These favorable and fresh summer foods will keep your body well-nourished and cool from within.
Below are some of the superfoods for summer:
- Cucumbers
Cucumbers are best ideal cooling summer food. They contain high amount of water and helps to keep your body refreshed and cool.
Erepsin, which is an enzyme found in cucumbers, helps to keep the intestinal tract healthy. This is extremely helpful in summers and it also helps to improve digestion system, where people has a lot of complain regarding poor digestion.
Additionally, cucumber contains vitamin C that helps to protect the skin from ultraviolet rays or sun rays and also prevent sun rays, wrinkles and many more.
Enjoy a plate full of cucumber salad as a crunchy and cool snack. You can even consume cucumber as a juice or soup in summers.
- Watermelon
Watermelon is a staple food for summer picnics. As its name implies, this fruit is a hydration hero With about 92 percent of its weight coming from water, watermelon contributes to fluid intake to help keep the body well hydrated. “Watermelon’s high water content keeps you cool and hydrated,” says Boston. By staying hydrated, you can keep your memory sharp and your mood stable.
Also, watermelon provides plenty of antioxidants including vitamins A and C and lycopene, which help reduce risk of complications from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, high blood pressure, macular degeneration and arthritis.
To keep your body cool and well hydrated during the hot summer months, munch on fresh watermelon daily. The refreshing and sweet taste of watermelon is liked by all, including children.
That same high water content will also keep you feeling full, which could curb cravings. As an added summer bonus, “Watermelon also contains lycopene, which protects skin cells from sun damage,” says Funk.
- Mangoes
Something that is readily available throughout the summer season, mango’s soothing and cooling effect will keep you energized during the hot summer days. Plus, mangoes are rich in vitamins A, C and E that are essential to maintain good health.
You can eat both ripe and unripe mangoes to beat summer heat. Eat ripe mangoes as a fruit snack or add the pulp to milk or yogurt and blend it for a tasty smoothie.
- Buttermilk
Drinking buttermilk at the end of a long, hot day in the sun is a great way to combat dehydration and fatigue. Packed with electrolytes and lots of water, a glass of buttermilk can help rehydrate your body.
It also helps calm the stomach after a spicy meal and aids in digestion. Sweating, tiredness, muscle cramps, nausea and headaches can also be reduced significantly by adding buttermilk to your diet. Plus, buttermilk is a great food for healthy skin.
So this summer, avoid aerated drinks and start drinking one or two glasses of buttermilk daily.
You can boil unripe mangoes, extract the pulp, add it to a glass of cold water and sprinkle in some salt and roasted cumin powder. This drink is an excellent remedy for heat stroke and exhaustion that can occur in the summertime.
- Sweet Lime
Also known as mosambi, sweet lime is a juicy and delicious fruit. Full of water, sweet lime helps you regain the water and electrolytes lost due to summer sweating.
It is also an excellent source of vitamin C, copper and iron. It aids in digestion to ward off digestive problems that are common in the summer. In addition, sweet lime also prevents skin hyperpigmentation, black spots and pimples as well as reducing sun tan.
Extract the juice from sweet limes and add a little salt and sugar to make a refreshing summer drink.
- Kiwi
Just one cup of this electric green fruit provides more potassium than the same amount of sliced bananas — with less sugar and calories! They may taste sweet, but there’s no worrying about cavities when it comes to kiwi, with just 7 grams of sugar in one medium fruit they have almost three times less sugar than one apple. One cup of the fruit also contains 5 grams of fiber (the green part has soluble fiber, while the seeds and skin offer the insoluble kind), or about 21 percent of the daily recommended intake, to help promote feelings of fullness.
