“Avoid oily, heavy meals; drink more water to stay hydrated in humid weather”

LAHORE, Aug 16 (APP): Health experts advised the citizens to avoid heavy meals and recommended maximum water intake to keep body hydrated in hot and humid weather, being experienced in plain areas including Lahore.

Digestion creates heat and consuming large amounts of rich foods in one sitting can be difficult for the body to break down, in struggling to digest food, body actually creates more heat.

Talking to APP, Nutritionist Dr Shazia Zahra Consultant Dietitian and Nutritionist said that even though the monsoon season starts with heavy rains, an intense blow of heat and humidity was expected afterward. The temperature was not usually high but there was some discomfort caused due to extreme humidity. The main reason behind this discomfort was that the sweat didn’t evaporate well to cool down the body but instead the sweat sticks to your body, making you feel uneasy and uncomfortable. This could make you feel irritated and fuzzy.

In order to survive in humid conditions, the people should take measures including ventilation in houses, use of Air Conditioners to reduce discomfort. Eating certain foods can also reduce the heat inside your body, making you feel cooler and more pleasant.

“Eat at short intervals with small portions. This will help digest the food in an optimum manner and keep acidity, wind, indigestion and even acid reflux at bay”, the dietitian advised.

She advised to eat plenty of high water content foods, along with drinking water to increase the water levels in body. Cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini, apples, watermelon, spinach, melon, kale, strawberries, carrots, and pineapples were rich in water content, these items should be included in diet.

Shazia stressed to add yogurt and sprouts in diet plan as they were nutritious, tasty, and fulfilling.

“Eating a heavy meal when it’s really hot out can also make you feel more sluggish and tired, also avoid processed foods, which typically didn’t contain much water and can be harder to digest”, she added.

The nutritionist said that it was important to be careful to avoid drinking too much water. Guzzling water could cause a potentially fatal condition known as ‘hyponatraemia’, which occurs when the sodium in your body becomes diluted and levels drop abnormally low. Aside from feeling thirsty, the best way to know if you’re properly hydrated was to assess the color of your urine. “If it is a very pale yellow, like the color of light lemon juice, you are hydrated. If it is any darker than that, then you are dehydrated.”

“Limit your oily, fried food intake; keep it to a minimum and try having desserts with fruit in them. Since it’s the mango season, you could have a delicious array of mango based desserts or fruit salads instead of the usual high fat, high calorie desserts,she concluded.