Just when you told yourself “one more degree and I’m off to Himachal”, Delhi’s weather accepted your challenge and skipped over to a sweltering 47ºC! And do allow me to point out that it’s only May and June & July are the actual “summer months”.

So while you resist any and all reasons to pack up and leave for the Tundra region, here are some foods you can eat to keep yourself cool from the inside.

Yays:

1. Cucumber

Cucumbers are cool, and a famous phrase would like to vouch for it. Cliché alert! Anywho, besides the famous saying, cucumbers have legit cooling properties like being high on fibre content to help you stay cool.

2. Curd

Let some steam off with cold yogurt. If you’re not one for some plain old dahi with your meal, crank things up a notch. Turn your curd into delicious buttermilk, lassi, chhaas or even raita.

3. Bottle Gourd

Rich in magnesium, calcium, foliate and Vitamins A & C, lauki or bottle gourd is a cooling vegetable. Not only that, it also works wonders on high blood pressure and is a great blood purifier.

4. Onion

You may well up initially, but onions are amazing coolants. Especially red onions, which are high in quercetin, a natural anti-allergen. Chop up some and add to your dips, salads and raitas to protect yourself against sunstrokes.

5. Salads

Salads are a refreshing combination of greens, leaves and veggies. All of which are high in fiber and roughage. More so, lettuce is 95% water so not only are salads healthy, they can prevent a possible heat wave too.

6. Mint

The easily available mint is a known heat soldier. The leaves are easy to find, can even be grown in your garden, and provide instant cooling. Basically, concoct a pitcher of virgin mojito and forget about the heat.

7. Melons

Chop some for breakfast; add it to your salads; puree it into a smoothie or simply whip it into some salsa. There are umpteen numbers of ways to have melon, the fruit that turns down the heat inside and can also battle various health issues like obesity, flues, cancer, etc

8. Watermelon

Of course, watermelons are summer-friendly. The fruit contain 90% water, while the juice red insides are high on Vitamins C & A and antioxidants to protect you from the Sun.

9. Coconut Water

Fortified with natural sugars, electrolytes and essential minerals which help keep the body well hydrated, coconut water is also rich in has cancer fighting and anti-ageing properties.

Nays:

And while you’re maintaining a healthy intake of all the cool and hydrating grubs, make sure to keep your intake of the below mentioned foods to a minimum.

10. Protein-Rich Foods

Summers conjure the image of a steamy barbecue grill adorned with burger patties and steaks. But the irony is that these are all foods high in protein, which means they are super hard to digest and when your body does start digesting proteins, it creates heat in the process. So cut back on protein intake this summer.

11. Diuretic Foods

These are foods that increase the body’s water excretion, leaving you dehydrated and parched. But since your aim is to retain as much water as possible in your body, staying away from diuretic foods like tea, coffee, soda and other caffeinated beverages is a good idea.

12. Spicy Foods

While some may argue that hot peppers lead to sweating and eventually, cooling down of the body, the truth is that the capsaicin actually warms up your insides. And since the Sun is already doing the warming job just fine, you might as well stick to a milder sauce.

Get ready to kick some summer ass!