One way to protect yourself during extreme heat is to be careful with your diet.
Priscilla Fernandez, a registered dietitian with Parkland Health, explains to KERA’s Sam Baker why what you eat and drink matters.
Fernandez: When you're eating or drinking, your body has to go through the process of digestion. And digestion actually uses a lot of energy to break down that food in order to absorb the nutrition that we are trying to take in. I guess you can call this the thermic effect of food. In that sense, yes, everything we eat and drink will affect how our body handles the heat.
Baker: Should you consume smaller portions this time of year?
Fernandez: Especially if you're out in the heat, the answer is yes. You want to be careful with heavy meals. The lighter the food that you're eating, the better it is for your body to digest. Foods that are very high in protein or very high in fat are actually going to take much longer to digest, which can cause your body to produce more heat and make it more difficult for you to cool down.
Baker: So, what would be a good choice and a bad choice, for instance?
Fernandez: So a great choice is going to be something light, something that contains a high amount of water: cucumbers, celery, radishes, strawberries. Watermelon, of course, is a famous one. Grapefruit, cantaloupe, leafy greens actually, zucchini, blueberries.
I would say almost any fruit, lemons, peaches, plums, those are all going to very light and easier for your body to digest. And they provide your body with a lot of water as well. They also give your body some essential electrolytes like your sodium potassium magnesium and calcium which are all essential in maintaining hydration in your body.
A bad choice will probably be heavy barbecue ribs with French fries. I mention it because here in Texas we love our barbecue. So, you do want to be careful with it.
Now it doesn't mean you can't have it. I would choose to have your barbecue either in the earlier part of the day when it's a lot cooler. Make sure you have a lot of shade if you're going to have it in the hotter part of some of the day or towards the evening when it starts cooling down. You just want to careful when it's very, very hot outside.
Baker: You mentioned hydration. Let's move to that. Is water the best choice?
Fernandez: For the average person, water is a great choice. If you are out in the heat and you're sweating for more than an hour, then you probably might want to think about having something with electrolytes.
Baker: An example of something with electrolytes?
Fernandez: Just your regular sports drinks are going to have some electrolytes. You can also make your own electrolytes, just add a little bit of honey with a little of salt. You can also have coconut water, which is also a great natural electrolyte replacer. I would just be careful, if you have kidney disease, you want to be careful with coconut water because it is very high in potassium.
Baker: Exactly how much water should you drink during the day?
Fernandez: If you are just running around, I would say just if you're thirsty, drink some water. That might be listening to your body is essential. Your body will tell you what it needs.
But if you are in extreme hot Texas weather and you're sweating a lot, then a good rule of thumb is to drink one or two cups of water for every hour that you're outside being active.
RESOURCES:
Discover the best foods to beat the heat wave
Nutritional Interventions to Alleviate the Negative Consequences of Heat Stress1
