Here are some Health foods, Summer herbs & Healthcare tips that could help you to keep your cool in the hot season!

Health-Care Tips For Summers

• You need to increase the intake of liquids, particularly water.

• Spicy, hot and fried foods are a no-no for the summer season.

• Intake of products that have a cooling, soothing and calming effect on our system would be beneficial.

Top 10 Summer Health Foods & Summer Herbs

1. Mint

Summer Foods

The leaves of mint either in raw form or prepared into a chutney (along with onion and lemon ) is extremely beneficial for summer ailments like loss of hunger, indigestion, excessive wind formation, occasional nausea and even worm infestation.

How to Use

You may chew the leaves in your daily salad, make it into Mint Chutney (edible green paste) or have the herb as decoction or green tea; you can always make your personal choice.

 2. Amla

Summer Foods

The fruit of Amla is another boon for the hot climate. As it is cold by nature and has a sweet after taste, it is useful in decreasing the body heat and heat related disorders like burning sensation in eyes and in sole of the feet, increased thirst etc.

How to Use

During the summers, the most often symptoms due to the elevated external heat can be relieved by taking fresh juice of the fruit or sweet jelly called ‘Amla murabba’. These also act as a tonic to do away mental and physical fatigue. The applying a paste made of Amla in milk can relieve burning sensation of the skin and headaches associated with a heat stroke.

3. Rose 

Summer Herbs

The use of Rose is extremely beneficial in the hot climate. It is not only cooling, but also a delicious fragrant remedy. To combat heat related maladies that are common in summers like hyper-acidity, occasional indigestion, burning sensation in the skin and eyes and also in skin eruptions and boils, you could benefit by taking rose preparations in the form of Rose syrup or jelly.

How to Use

The Rose syrup is available in the market or it can be made at home. This provides a cooling effect to the entire system and due to its tranquilizing effect, relieves the fatigued and exhaustive state of the body. ‘Gulkand’ is a sweet Rose jelly, which is a combination of rose petals and sugar. This can be taken one or two teaspoons twice a day. Also, keep some rose petals in clean water overnight and splash the water on your face early morning. This helps to relieve the burning sensation, helps in improving complexion and also clears pimples.

4. Sandalwood 

Summer Herbs

Another nature’s gift in summer season is the sandalwood. It is used both externally and internally to subside the effect of aggravated heat in the body. Sandalwood is easily available in the market in the form of syrup and essence, which can be taken in cold water to undo fatigue, thirst and skin burns.

How To Use

In summers, when you suffer from headache due to heat, a paste made out of sandalwood can be applied on the forehead for quick relief. Also, there are a number of soaps, talcum and sprays made out of this herb. Not only this, beads of sandalwood are worn in ornaments to keep cool. Sandalwood drink or Sharbat is also recommended.

5. Henna 

Summer Herbs

The herb of Henna provides a cooling and soothing effect.

 How to Use

A paste made by crushing a few leaves of ‘Mehndi’ can be applied to resist a burning sensation in the soles of feet and hands. It could also benefit those suffering from headaches due to excessive heat. This paste is also advocated in some skin ailments.

6. Coconut 

Summer Foods

Coconut is sweet in taste and cold in action. According to the Ayurvedic view, coconut aids in balancing the distortion in the body systems caused by aggravation of the Pitta dosha or the fire body humor. Therefore the use of coconut has been emphasized in the ailments that result from increased heat in the body.

How to Use

Coconut water is easily available and is beneficial in curing the associated maladies of summer season like hyper-acidity, gastritis, and excessive thirst and heartburn. A pain in the abdomen accompanied with burning sensation can be cured with the intake of coconut water because of it’s properties to subside both heat and pain.

Summer Foods

Asparagus is another herb that has a cool and tranquilizing effect on the body. As it helps to subside the heat humor inside the body, it a boon for the summer seasons. Also, the herb of asparagus has a calming and soothing effect on the brain and helps to improve the intellect.

How to Use

In summers, if you are suffering from burning sensation in your stomach and chest due to excessive heat, you could try a decoction made out of boiling one teaspoon full of Asparagus roots in a glass of water. It can be sipped plain or with additional milk at bedtime.

8. Grapes 

Summer Foods

Grapes are soft and slimy by nature and cold in potency. The taste as well as the after taste is sweet. Being slimy and cold by nature, grapes tend to decrease the ‘Pitta’ or heat. Also the fruit of grapes is invigorating and rejuvenating. Grapes are essentially beneficial in heat related maladies like burning sensation of the palms and soles, excessive perspiration, excessive thirst etc.

How to Use

Try a sweetened drink prepared by pounding a handful of grapes and find relief. Also, fresh fruit or the juice extracted from the same can be taken to boost up your energy levels.

9. Onions

Summer Foods

Onion is a good appetizer and anti flatulent. The regular intake of onions in the summer season could relieve you from a number of digestion maladies like indigestion, dyspepsia, habitual constipation and piles. The juice taken on an empty stomach is also beneficial for the liver. For nosebleeds, which is a common malady of summer season, the chewing of white onions and inhaling of the fumes from the same tends to stop the bleeding.

How to Use

Intake of onions in the form of salads, vegetable or any cooked or semi-cooked foods have always been considered highly nutritive, energy booster and promoter of virility. The prescribed dosage of onion juice is 10 to 30 ml.

10. Cardamom

Summer Foods

Being soothing and calming by nature and cold in action, you could benefit in Summer season essentially by taking cardamom in case of any sort of burning in the body. Is it burning in the stomach, mouth, soles of the feet and hands, a burning perception in the eyes or burning urination.

How to use

The recommended dosage of cardamom powder is approx. half to one gram. It can be taken along with water or milk twice a day.

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