Will eating hot or spicy foods cool you down? Yes!
Even though it seems counter-intuitive to eat something that makes you hot, being forced to sweat helps you to cool off. This helps to stabilize your body’s core temperature. Eating hot (temperature-wise) foods such as soup also help for the same reason. Spicy-hot foods help your body handle the hot weather by chemical means.
The most common example of spicy-hot foods is capsaicin, the chemical found in many spicy cuisines. This is what puts the hot in chill peppers! It also has medical uses: it is the main active ingredient in some arthritis pain cremes; It works by numbing pain, much the way your tongue is numbed by very spicy food.
So, to beat the heat – eat – spicy food that is!
Seven tips on surviving extreme heat
In addition to eating spicy foods, here are 7 ways to help survive the summer heat:
- Stay cool: stay in air conditioning if possible. If you don’t have air conditioning, try to visit a mall or library. Visit a pool.
- Drink plenty of fluids: non-alcoholic and cool
- Skip heavy meals and hot (temperature-wise) meals – eat foods that are light and cool
- Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing
- Small children, infants, people with health problems, and people over 65 are most vulnerable to heat stress; Check in with them to see how they are doing.
- Remember your furry family members: leave plenty of fresh water placed in a shady area for outside pets
- Don’t leave children or pets in a parked car
Sources: CDC, Yahoo.com, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), About.com
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