We tend to fall prey to a lot of fad diets, junk foods and calorie-heavy drinks as summer starts to loom it’s hot and humid head. We gravitate towards foods that satisfy our munching needs rather than reach for those that give us nutrition. While dieting isn’t the necessary route to take, neither is spinning out of control and eating anything in sight… So, we asked Nutritionist, Anupama Menon, to guide us as to what exactly to eat and what foods to stay away from in order to lead a healthy lifestyle.
1. Keep yourself hydrated
Thirst can be mistaken for hunger and could lead to huge sinful food cravings in extreme temperatures, either when it is too cold or too hot. So, this summer carry your bottle of water around and catch a sip whenever you get a chance. Biting into chips of ice is a great way to give you immense satisfaction and may help you eat cleaner this summer. Make sure to stay away from aerated drinks.
2. Include your veggies
Summer brings in a rush of flavorful veggies like spinach, bell peppers, corn and summer squashes! Add these colorful veggies to your salads because not only does this offer a healthy choice of a meal, it keeps you (and your taste buds) satisfied. These veggies also bring in a host of micro-nutrients which are super important for baseline cellular function.
3. Summer drinks
With veggies like cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, add a dash of citrus fruits but keep it largely to vegetable juices. These blended with ice will keep you cool and will deliver those enzymes that you could do so with for better digestion and metabolism.
4. Clean your gut
It’s easy to catch the stomach bug during the summer. So keep your immunity working and your digestion ticking!! Have natural probiotics every single day, if possible 3 times a day. Choose from sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, buttermilk, homemade sour yoghurt, beet kvass, fermented salsa and veggies. These will bring in those natural friendly bacteria babies that will endorse a friendly culture in your gut. Digestion will be better and so will be your immunity!
5. Say no to junk
Keep the processed food far far away! Not just in summer but in any season!
Will you be healthy this summer? Comment with an emoji of your favourite vegetable.
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