It’s only going to get worse!
Behold the cruel sultry month of May…
We have somehow made it out of April alive and all tanned, only heavens know what May has in store for us!
“Early May will bring another resurgence of dangerous heat across India as the nation continues to wait for the summer monsoon to bring lasting heat relief.”
“High pressure will build back across India this week, allowing temperatures to soar once again.” – Source
Fret not! Scientific Nutrition is here to help! 😀
Follow our super effective tips and you will sail through the heat and torture of May.
Do Not Step Outside Between 11 am and 5 pm
It is best to stay indoors during summers and especially in the month of May.
The sun is directly above your head at this time and temperatures rise up to 40-45 degrees depending upon where you stay.
The dryness and heat are simply maddening.
These 6 hours are simply the worst hours to be outdoors because it has been observed that in most heat stroke cases, the patient was outdoors during the afternoon.
Heat strokes are dangerous as well as fatal. While healthy individuals may need some only a few hours of rest after a heat stroke, children, elders, diabetics and high blood pressure patients find it very difficult to recover from a heat stroke.
If you must go out you must…[/cs_text][x_gap size=”10px”][x_feature_list][x_feature_box title=”Carry a water-bottle” title_color=”” text_color=”” graphic=”icon” graphic_size=”35px” graphic_shape=”circle” graphic_color=”#ffffff” graphic_bg_color=”#2ecc71″ align_h=”left” align_v=”middle” side_graphic_spacing=”10px” max_width=”none” child=”true” connector_width=”1px” connector_style=”solid” connector_color=”hsl(0, 0%, 99%)” graphic_icon=”check-square-o”][x_feature_box title=”Wear a cap/hat” title_color=”” text_color=”” graphic=”icon” graphic_size=”35px” graphic_shape=”circle” graphic_color=”#ffffff” graphic_bg_color=”#2ecc71″ align_h=”left” align_v=”middle” side_graphic_spacing=”10px” max_width=”none” child=”true” connector_width=”1px” connector_style=”solid” connector_color=”hsl(0, 0%, 99%)” graphic_icon=”check-square-o”][x_feature_box title=”Wear loose cotton clothes” title_color=”” text_color=”” graphic=”icon” graphic_size=”35px” graphic_shape=”circle” graphic_color=”#ffffff” graphic_bg_color=”#2ecc71″ align_h=”left” align_v=”middle” side_graphic_spacing=”10px” max_width=”none” child=”true” connector_width=”1px” connector_style=”solid” connector_color=”hsl(0, 0%, 99%)” graphic_icon=”check-square-o”][/x_feature_list][x_feature_list][x_feature_box title=”Apply ample of sunscreen” title_color=”” text_color=”” graphic=”icon” graphic_size=”35px” graphic_shape=”circle” graphic_color=”#ffffff” graphic_bg_color=”#2ecc71″ align_h=”left” align_v=”middle” side_graphic_spacing=”10px” max_width=”none” child=”true” connector_width=”1px” connector_style=”solid” connector_color=”hsl(0, 2%, 99%)” graphic_icon=”check-square-o”][x_feature_box title=”Avoid travelling on bikes” title_color=”” text_color=”” graphic=”icon” graphic_size=”35px” graphic_shape=”circle” graphic_color=”#ffffff” graphic_bg_color=”#2ecc71″ align_h=”left” align_v=”middle” side_graphic_spacing=”10px” max_width=”none” child=”true” connector_width=”1px” connector_style=”solid” connector_color=”hsl(0, 2%, 99%)” graphic_icon=”check-square-o”][/x_feature_list][cs_text]
Drink a Lot of Liquids (But…)
We sweat a lot in summers.
And sweating a good thing because…
- Sweating helps maintain temperature of the body
- Sweating rids your body of harmful toxins
- Sweating keeps your skin pores clean
To replenish the water content of our body, we drink more water as we sweat more which is a logical thing.
But is only water enough?
How many of you have heard about the condition ‘water toxication’ or ‘hyponatremia’?
The very substance of life can intoxicate you!
It is extremely rare, but possible.
In this condition, the sodium levels drop or technically there is an ‘imbalance of electrolytes’ which is harmful for the body.
In layman’s terms, let’s say there is 1 litre of water in your body and 100 grams sodium. (Ratio of water:sodium is 10:1)
You have just exercised for an hour and have lost a lot of water and sodium as sweat. Say you lost half a litre of water and 50 grams of sodium.
So you drink a lot of water to feel hydrated. Say, you drank half litre water.
Now what is the new water and sodium composition?
1 litre water and 50 grams sodium.
Now the ratio of water:sodium is 20:1.
More water and less sodium!
This is what happens during water intoxication!
As already told, this is extremely rare and you are never likely to hear someone being intoxicated by water.
But this is also an indication that, when we sweat and wish to replenish water level of the body, we must rely on liquids other than water.
These include but are not limited to lemon water, buttermilk, soups, milk, tender coconut water etc.
So make sure you drink them along with your fair share of water not just in summers but also in other seasons as well.
However, do not drink fruit juices!
This brings us to the next point…
Eat a Lot of Fruits
Fruits should make up about 50% of your diet in summers!
Whaaayyyy? You may ask!
So during summers your food intake goes down, water intake goes up.
Fruits are great for such situations.
They supply you with fiber, vitamins, micronutrients etc as well as water to stay hydrated.
*But I like fruit juices!*
Many people say that fruits juices are more convenient than whole fruits. Some even say they are tastier! (Imagine our reaction to that!)
The problems with fruit juices are two –
When you juice fruits, all the fiber is gone. Why would you eliminate an essential diet component out of your fruits?
The equation is not that simple. 1 apple doesn’t make 1 apple juice. You need several apples to make 1 glass of apple juice. Consumption of fruit juices leads to a sugar rush in your body. Sugar is bad, sugar is addictive… Always remember this!
So eat a lot of fruits. Grapes, apples, watermelons, oranges etc.
Surprised why I didn’t mention mangoes?
That brings us to the next point!
Go Easy on them Mangoes! (Hear us out here!)
Mangoes are super fruits!
But the downside is that they are available only for 3-4 months of the year.
So people generally binge on the king of fruits like there is no tomorrow!
Mangoes have great health benefits, but binging on mangoes is a health hazard as well as a weight hazard.
Mangoes have great fiber content, which is a good thing. But since people suddenly start believing in YOLO when it comes to eating mangoes, this becomes a bad thing. Eating too many mangoes can give you diarrhoea the next day.
Also, mangoes can be fattening if consumed in large amounts. This point is certainly debatable but why would you risk you health and well-being over a seasonal fruit.
We are not asking you to completely stop eating mangoes, just informing you that too many mangoes could be bad for you.
So eat mangoes while you think about your digestive system as well as your waist.
Take Care of Your Skin and Hair (And eyes!)
Skin and hair are really sensitive. They need extra care when the mercury is high and rising.
Your skincare and haircare regime should spike during the summers.
Skin and hair hate the dry air and high temperatures. So keep them hydrated.
Use a good moisturiser and oil your hair regularly.
And as mentioned earlier, apply ample of sunscreen before you go outdoors.
Eyes are really sensitive to heat and dirt. Both of which are present galore in the month of May.
Make sure you keep your eyes cool and free from dirt by rinsing them regularly. And of course…
The Sun Doesn’t Burn Your Calories
People feel that you sweat enough during the summers and take a sabbatical from their gym or exercise regime.
This is totally because of false marketing of those sweat-inducing belts.
If mere sweating was enough to cause weight loss, people would have simply chilled in the sun instead of working out, right?
But it doesn’t happen.
So, quit making excuses and do not give up on your exercise regime.
This isn’t The Last Summer of Your Life
Yes, seriously!
You have many more summers to come and go.
Confused why are we reminding you of this?
It is because people consume more of ice-cream, lassi, fruit juices etc during summer.
We told you the problem with fruit juices. It holds for all seasons.
Foods like ice-creams is the real issue here.
Just like mangoes, people find the ‘summer excuse’ to gorge on ice-creams.
But ice-creams are super evil foods. To give you a rough estimate…
A cup of ice-cream contains 250-300 calories.
It’s all carbs and fats!
Just 7-8% is protein and the rest is pure carbs and fats!
That makes us cringe!
The worst thing here is people do not stop at one cup. We have never seen people stopping at one cup of ice-cream. There are always 2,3,4… cups of ice-cream.
Eat ice-cream only if you can contain yourself to one or two scoops. Else avoid it completely!
Your health is more important than your favourite vanilla ice-cream scoop!
This brings us to the end of the article.
What else do you do apart from the above tips to deal with May and summer in general?[/cs_text][cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]