18 Best Tips to Stay Healthy in Summer (100% Effective)

Welcome to Fitness Deciphers…!!!

Today, we are going to discuss the most effective tips to stay healthy in summer.

Summer is the hottest and most extreme season of all the seasons. So we also have to take extreme care to stay healthy in this season.

Though the time period of summer for the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere is different, the care we have to take is almost the same.

The summer for the people who live between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn is very extreme and hottest in the world.

So they have to be more aware of their health during summer.

“According to the Ayurveda, summer is the season of pitta, so it recommends everyone (especially those who have pitta imbalance) to keep the body cool and not allow pitta dosha to become aggravated”.

Here, we will discuss the most effective, 100% practical, and easy ways that will help you to maintain your good health in this hottest season.

Let’s start.

Tips to Stay Healthy in Summer

Apply all or some of the following tips to keep yourself healthy and cool every day in the summer.

1) Apply Coconut Oil Before Having a Bath

Coconut oil has cooling properties.

If you know about the properties of different oils then you very well know this.

As we apply mustard oil in winter because of its heating properties, in the same way, we should apply coconut oil in summer because of its cooling properties.

If you apply coconut oil to your skin before having a bath in summer, it will help you keep your skin cool and calm. It will also soothe your skin.

If you don’t have coconut oil you can also apply the sunflower oil to your body before having a bath in the summer.

2) Avoid Direct Contact With The Midday Sun

In the summer, the sun is very extreme due to a certain position of the earth. So it is always advised to avoid the midday sun.

If you expose yourself to midday sun in the summer then it may cause dehydration, headache, vomiting, dizziness, etc.

According to Ayurveda, the lubrication of your joints gets dried in the summer so Ayurveda also recommends staying away from direct sunlight.

You should get your work done before 11 am or after 5 pm and not in between it. Just stay and relax at your home in the summer afternoon.

1. Before You Go Outside, Remember this.

If you have to go outside because of any reason then wear full sleeve clothes, a cap/wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses, etc.

Make sure the lenses of your sunglasses are smoky gray or green, not red or yellow, and especially not blue or purple because lenses of these colors damage the eyes.

Apply sunscreen with SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of more than 30. Don’t apply any sunscreen with SPF lower than 30.

You can also bring an umbrella with you to stay away from direct sunlight.

Also, drink one glass of lemonade added with rock salt. It will help you stay hydrated in the summer.

2. As You Come Home from Outside, Remember this.

As you come home from outside in the summer, don’t just switch on your air conditioner as you enter your home.

First, let your body come at a normal temperature then switch it on because a sudden change in the body’s temperature can cause adverse effects on your health.

Don’t drink icy cold water as soon you come.

As you come home, drink a glass of normal water and sit for 10-15 minutes then do whatever you want.

3) Expose Your Body to Moonlight

The light from the moon is different from the light from the sun because the photons of the sunlight are first absorbed by the rocks on the moons and then reflected back to the earth.

According to Ayurveda, sunlight heats up the body and increases the pitta whereas, moonlight cools down the body and decreases pitta.

As the season of summer is related to pitta aggravation, exposing your body to moonlight (especially full moon) is very beneficial for you to stay healthy in summer.

After dinner, go for a walk in the moonlight wearing white clothes with white flowers in your hair or a garland of white flowers around your neck.

Ayurveda also mentions drinking milk added with dried rose petals kept in a silver vessel under the moonlight to balance the pitta in summer.

4) Wear Lightweight, Light-colored, Loose-fitting Clothes in Summer

Try to wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothes to stay cool and comfortable in the summer. Also, avoid tight clothes in the summer.

Colors of the clothes that you wear in summer matter a lot in keeping you healthy and pitta balanced.

Try to wear clothes in white, silver, green, blue, and purple colors because these colors reflect the heat back and keep your body cool.

You should also avoid clothes that are red, orange, dark yellow, and black because these colors absorb the heat and aggravate pitta.

5) Avoid Exercising During Midday

If you have ever exercised in the winter, you know very well that it quickly warms your body. But exercising heavily in summer can affect your health adversely.

In summer, your first goal should be cooling your body and not warming or heating it. So try to avoid heavy exercise.

Still, if you want to do heavy exercise, you can do it early in the morning or late in the evening and strictly not at midday.

Here, you are advised to avoid heavy exercise that doesn’t mean you have to remain inactive all day. There are many exercises that you can do even in the summer.

What types of exercises should you do?

Yoga poses such as cobra pose, camel pose, boat pose, cow pose, fish and palm tree pose, etc. You can also practice meditation twice a day.

You can also practice the moon salutation and shitali pranayama.

6) Drink Plenty of Water

Drink at least 2-3 liters of water a day to keep yourself properly hydrated in the season of summer.

You should also intake water in the form of various foods such as buttermilk, watery fruits, lemonade, fruit juice, vegetable juice, coconut water, sugarcane juice, etc.

If the atmosphere is too hot and humid then you can also drink electrolyte-rich sports drinks to keep yourself hydrated.

7) Eat Healthy and Light Foods

Modern-day science and Ayurveda both recommend eating light, small, and frequent meals.

If you are consuming heavy meals full of fats and carbs then they will increase the heat of the body.

Which foods should you consume in the summer?

Ayurveda emphasizes the foods that are sweet, cold in nature, and liquid foods during the summer.

You should include foods such as cucumbers, melons, grapes, old rice, green vegetables, rock sugar (Mishri), milk, etc in your diet.

You should also include buttermilk, lassi, Kachchi lassi, steamed asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cucumber-yogurt raita, etc.

If you eat non-veg foods then include light meat such as chicken, turkey, and shrimp once a week. You should strictly avoid eating red meat such as beef, lamb, pork, etc as they are extremely heating.

Kitchari which is made of basmati rice and mung dal, with a small amount of ghee and grated coconut is a very light and nourishing dish that you can enjoy in summer.

Which foods should you avoid in the summer?

As mentioned above, avoid red meat.

You should also avoid pungent, salty, acidic, sour, and spicy foods during summer.

Limit the intake of onion, garlic, chili, tomato, sour cream, and salted cheeses.

You should also avoid sour fruits, citrus fruits, and even beets and carrots too because they are all heating in nature.

Also, exclude hot water, and hot drinks such as tea and coffee. If you drink alcohol then avoid alcoholic beverages such as whiskey, brandy, rum, and red wine.

Related:

• How to get rid of alcohol addiction?
• Yoga Poses to Get Rid of Alcohol Consumption

Can I Drink the Iced Drinks?

You are told to avoid hot drinks that doesn’t mean you should start drinking iced drinks.

It is because according to Ayurveda, iced drinks produce toxins in the body and lower the digestion process. So, you should never consume them.

( Related: Ayurvedic Tips to Improve Digestion)

8) Avoid Working in a Hot Kitchen

I think all the women reading this article, know what happens when you have to prepare food in the kitchen in extreme summer.

It is not just the worst experience but it also badly affects the health.

According to Ayurveda, working in the hot kitchen provokes the pitta in the body.

So you should avoid it. Instead, you should prepare your lunch early in the morning and dinner late in the evening.

You can also install an exhaust fan or chimney in your kitchen so that all the steam and hot air produced can exist in the kitchen.

9) Apply Coconut Oil on Your Scalps and to the Soles of Your Feet Before Going to Sleep

As mentioned above, coconut oil has cooling properties. If you apply coconut oil on your scalps and to the soles of your feet, it can literally calm and cool your body.

At the night, just have a bath with cold water and massage your scalp and soles with coconut oil and go to sleep.

10) Monitor the Color of Your Urine

If the color of your urine is darker then it is an indication of dehydration.

Make sure to consume enough liquid so that the color of your urine remains light.

11) Certain Jewelry and Gems can Help in Summer

The jewelry and gems such as a necklace of sandalwood beads, a jade necklace or pearl necklace, amethyst crystals, malachite crystals, moonstone, and any silver jewelry can help you to stay healthy in the summer.

12) Certain Fragrances can Help

The fragrances of sandalwood, jasmine, or khus can help you get cool and calm in the summer.

13) Bath with Cold Water

Generally, people who use hot water for baths in the winter, keep on using hot water in the summer too. It is a very wrong practice.

In the season of summer, you should switch to cold/normal water and avoid the use of hot water.

You should also have baths twice a day i.e, one time after waking up and the second time before going to bed in the season of summer.

14) Drink Water Kept in a Clay Pot

It is one of the best tips that can help you stay healthy in summer.

Storing water in the clay pot enhances the cooling and soothing properties of water. If we drink such water, it cools and calms the body.

Water kept in the clay pot is also alkaline in nature which tends to balance the excess acid/pitta that is produced in the summer.

It also boosts our metabolism and also prevents sunstroke. So rather than drinking refrigerated water, start storing and drinking water from the clay pot.

15) Drink Milk Adding These Cooling Herbs

Who doesn’t like to drink a cool milkshake in summer?

Everyone likes it right…???

But what if the milkshake you drink can provide you additional health benefits in summer!

There are many herbs that you can add to your drinks to stay healthy in summer.

Such herbs are Shatavari, Ashwagandha, Cinnamon, Triphala, fennel, gulakanad, cardamom seeds, etc.

In the research of RMIT of Australia, it is also found that including cinnamon in your foods can lower your body temperature by 2 degrees.

Not only cinnamon, but all these herbs mentioned here also have cooling properties and can benefit you a lot if consumed with milk.

16) Reduce or Avoid Using Sesame Oil and Mustard Oil

Sesame and mustard oils are heating in nature. You should avoid using them in the season of summer. Instead of using these two, you should switch to ghee (clarified butter), coconut oil, or olive oil.

17) Stay Away From Fried Foods

The summer afternoons make you lazy and in such times you crave more for some delicious fried foods but wait…is it ok to consume them in summer?

Absolutely not.

Fried foods are difficult to digest by the body and eating them can cause bloating.

Fried foods can also produce excess heat in your body. So it is better to avoid them.

18) Avoid Drinking Carbonated Fizzy Drinks

Drinking cold drinks in the summer is a wonderful experience.

But do you know, such fizzy carbonated drinks make you thirstier than you were before?

Yes, it is true.

Instead of drinking such drinks, you should go for natural drinks such as sugarcane juice, coconut water, buttermilk, lassi, Kachchi lassi, lemonade, watermelon juice, aam Panna, etc.

These were some tips to stay healthy in summer. Let’s wrap up this article with a small conclusion.

Conclusion

Here, we have discussed the best tips to stay healthy in the summer.

Follow all or some of these tips to stay healthy throughout the season of summer.

If you have any questions related to this article, you can ask me in the comment box.

If you like this article, share it with your friends so that they can also stay healthy in the summer.

Thanks for reading…!!!