For those who live in Southern California, you know how great the weather is. But, even for us, August and September have many days in 90’s and 100’s so you need to know how to survive in it.
Food
“Anything ingested that is lower than actual body temperature will initially produce a cooling effect systemically,” says Gerard E. Mullin, the director of gastroenterology at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
But about 15 to 20 minutes after you eat something cold (ice cream, coke, beer) it has the opposite effect. “This is because the parts of the body that are in contact with the ice cream are physically cooled by the contact as heat is transferred to the ice cream. However, as the digestive process kicks in, body temperature increases as the body works to digest and absorb the nutrients in the ice cream, as well as to store the calories,” says Josephine Connolly-Schoonen, a professor of family medicine, Stony Brook University Medical Center.
“The body will physiologically respond to energy (i.e., heat) loss by increasing blood flow to the ‘cool’ region and bring the temperature back up to a physiological ‘body temperature,’ ” (98.6 degrees), adds Barry G. Swanson, a professor and co-chair of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Washington State University. So, eating cold foods does not really change your overall body temperature.
On the other hand, eating spicy foods might help cool you off. They increase your blood circulation and create the phenomenon called “gustatory facial sweating” says Luke LaBorde, a professor of food science at Penn State University. You might feel warmer at first, but then the cooling effect takes over after you sweat and you are in a breeze.
Eating fruit and vegetables that have a high water content are very effective for cooling you down and keeping you hydrated: grapes, apples, pears, peaches, watermelon, honeydew melon, and citrus fruits as well as cucumber, celery, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, avocado, summer squash, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, brocolli, bok choy, snap peas, asparagus, cauliflower, corn, sprouts, radish, and leafy greens.
Foods that are raw, poached or stir-fried, are the best way to eat during the hot summer months. You can cook with certain spices such as Mint, Fennel, Cilantro,Tumeric, Basil Cardamon, Dill, Cumin, and Ginger that are known in ancient China and India as cooling foods.
Drinks
Just like eating spicy foods make you sweat and then cool you off, so does drinking hot tea. Millions of people in India and Arabic countries drink hot tea to cool down. But you also have the issue of hydration and electrolytes that need to be addressed.
The symptoms of dehydration include dry lips and mouth, rapid heart rate and decreased urine output. Dehydration can affect the concentration of the body’s electrolytes, like sodium and potassium, and cause serious electrolyte and fluid imbalances. So, hydration is key, and if you are out running around sweating due to sports, fun or just errands, you need electrolytes, as well as water, but not from drinks that are highlighter yellow and electric green and blue. I mean, come on, is there anything in nature that has those colors? You have got to be kidding me that you would put something that color in your body! And the sugar content of those thing! They’re terrible!
You can buy sports drinks that replenish you and that don’t poison you at the same time. One brand is Olade (sweetened with stevia) that you can find in health food stores. Coconut Water is a good source of electrolytes, but if you have any sort of blood sugar or weight issues, you need to watch it with coconut water, because it contains lots of carbohydrates. You can also make your own electrolyte water with a little water, lemon juice, salt and stevia.
What I usually do, since I don’t really like to drink sports drinks, is just make sure I have plenty of water and stay on top of it by taking some Organically Bound Minerals by Standard Process. Organically Bound Minerals contain the type of minerals or electrolytes that your body loses in the heat when you sweat. That usually handles it. If I am really knockout by the heat, I will also take Hyland’s Bioplasma Cell Salts. It’s a homeopathic product you can buy on line or at health food stores. I keep putting them under my tongue until the rate they dissolve starts to slow down. That’s when I know I have had enough.
Also if you have been sweating, don’t shy away from using a good sea salt – that’s a great source of minerals that you need.
Sunscreen, Sunburn and Sun Stroke
Sun is actually good for us. It’s a good source of vitamin D and we need that to prevent cancer. But too much sun, or vitamin D is “known” to give you cancer! So what gives? The missing link is “Vitamin F”, which are essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. This is how it works: Vitamin D picks up calcium from the gut and puts it in your blood. Vitamin F then takes it out of your blood and puts it in the tissue, where the calcium can do its job. So too much D and not enough F leaves you susceptible to sunstroke and hives brought on by sun exposure, because those things are problems caused by high blood calcium levels. Back to the cancer. Calcium in the tissues, means it can increase your white blood cells and boost your immune system. Cancer is a weak immune system problem brought on mostly by enviornmental toxins and/or poor lifestyle choices.
But, if you are fair, or don’t want to freckle you will probably want to use sunscreen. The kind you don’t want to use is chemical or nano particle sun screen. Chemical sunscreens contain, well, chemicals! You body absorbs 60% of what you put on it, so chemical sunscreen is a big mistake! The only way to get a sunscreen of “80” is to use cancer causing chemicals. (And BTW, that means that it will last around 8 hours, not that it is 80 times stronger or more protective.) Examples of chemicals used in sunscreen you want to avoid are Oxybenzone (endocrine disruptor), retinylpalmitate (synthetic Vitamin A linked to skin cancer) and parabens (preservative linked to breast cancer). You don’t want to use nano sunscreen, because the nano-size makes it even easier for the substance to penetrate the skin and move to your brain or organs.
The best kind of sunscreen is to use is a broad spectrum UVA/UVB that is chemical and nano particle free. Look for the main ingredients to be zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. The best place to research sunscreen brands, or find out if your is bad or good is the Environmental Working Group Sunscreen Guide. Don’t forget to reapply your sunscreen!!!If you do forget to reapply, or get sunburned, you need to use 3 things: aloe vera directly from the plant, apple cider vinegar and USF Ointment by Standard Process. This is formerly called “Vitamin F Ointment”. It’s an unsaturated fatty acid ointment you can use for eczema, dermatitis, diaper rash, herpes lesions, burns and sunburns. It’s pretty amazing and should be a part of anyone’s “medicine cabinet”.
So the moral to this story is to take 6 Cataplex F by Standard Process two hours prior to sun exposure to prevent sun sensitivity, sunburn and sunstroke. Use a good sunscreen that isn’t going to give you cancer. Make sure you stay hydrated with water – not sugary drinks, take your Organically Bound Minerals and eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables!
These recommendations are for the reduction of stress only. They are not intended as treatment or prescription for any disease, or as a substitute for regular medical care.