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Summer nutrition in hot weather: The best water-rich foods, electrolytes & micronutrients
Themen dieses Blogartikels:
Table of contents
- Heat, stress, fatigue – summer challenges you
- Summer nutrition: What the body needs in hot weather
- What you should and shouldn't drink in summer
- Watery foods & cooling recipes for hot days
- Watermelon
- Cucumber
- Salad
- Zucchini
- Recipe ideas: smoothies, salads and cooling snacks
- Smoothies
- Salads
- cooling snacks
- Electrolytes: Why they are essential in hot weather
- Matcha: The perfect start to hot days
- Mitochondria & Micronutrients: How to keep your energy metabolism stable
- Recipes and routines for more energy in summer
- Sources & Bibliography
Heat, stress, fatigue – summer challenges you
The scent of sunscreen and grilled sausages fills the air, the thermometer climbs to dizzying heights: There's no doubt about it, summer is here! But the (supposedly) "most wonderful time of the year" doesn't bring joy to everyone. While some cheerfully seek out cooling off at the outdoor pool or lake, others groan under the high temperatures and retreat to their darkened bedrooms. After all, summer can take a real toll on the body. Possible symptoms of extreme heat include fatigue, headaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, nausea, and cardiovascular problems.¹ In this article, we'll tell you how you can stay fit and productive in summer with the right diet.
Summer nutrition: What the body needs in hot weather
To cool itself down and protect itself from overheating, our bodies begin to sweat in high temperatures. The beads of sweat on the skin create evaporative cooling, which provides a natural refreshing feeling. However, this increased sweat production also causes the body to lose more fluids: While we sweat about 0.5 liters on average warm days, it can reach two to three liters on hot summer days.² Compensating for this fluid loss is important to prevent dehydration, which is what doctors call the dehydration of the body, which is often associated with an electrolyte imbalance.
The first signs that you haven't been drinking enough are extreme thirst, dry skin, and highly concentrated, dark-yellow urine. Now's the time to replenish your fluid levels to avoid serious consequences like rapid heartbeat, circulatory weakness, and even loss of consciousness.³ But how much should you actually drink?
As a rule of thumb, adults need about 2.5 liters of fluid per day, with one-third of this normally coming from food. In hot weather and/or during physical exertion, fluid needs increase two to three times.⁴ But it's not just the amount of fluid you consume that's important for your health—your choice of beverages also plays a crucial role.
What you should drink in summer – and what you shouldn’t
Suitable thirst quenchers (not just in the summer) include tap water, mineral water, fruit juice spritzers, and unsweetened teas. These drinks are best consumed at room temperature. Your body first has to bring ice-cold drinks up to body temperature in order to metabolize the nutrients—and that consumes a lot of energy, which makes you sweat even more. You should stay away from sugary sodas and alcoholic beverages if you want to do something good for your body. The reasons: Sweet soft drinks like soda, cola, and energy drinks are suspected of promoting diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease,⁵ while alcohol dehydrates the body, which is obviously counterproductive if you're already sweating heavily.⁶
Especially in hot weather, it's a good idea to choose drinks that are not only refreshing but also provide valuable micronutrients – such as magnesium, vitamins, or natural caffeine from plant sources. These can help counteract tiredness and fatigue and maintain electrolyte balance – especially if you lose more minerals through sweating. Make sure you choose a balanced sweetness, ideally without added sugar or with alternatives that don't significantly impact blood sugar levels.
And what about your diet in summer? Light meals, small portions, and cooling foods are recommended, providing your body with important micronutrients without putting a strain on your digestion. Read on to find out which must-haves you should put on your shopping list and which recipes you should try.
Watery foods & cooling recipes for hot days
As mentioned above, we meet our daily fluid needs not only through drinking but also through our diet. Therefore, it makes sense to prioritize water-rich foods in the summer to give your body an extra dose of fluid. Which vegetables and fruits are particularly suitable for this?
Watermelon
With a water content of up to 95 percent, watermelon is an ideal thirst quencher on hot days. What's more, 100 grams of ripe flesh contains just 37 calories, making it a low-calorie, wholesome snack.⁷ Tip: Mix watermelon cubes with some feta cheese, mint, and a dressing made from lime juice and maple syrup—and you'll transform this sweet treat into a savory salad.
Cucumber
Cucumbers also boast a high water content, which can reach up to 97 percent. Cucumbers are also rich in vitamins and minerals such as potassium and iron.⁸ You can use fresh cucumbers to make crisp salads, for example, with a light yogurt dressing or an Asian-inspired dressing made with sesame oil and chili. Cucumber water is also popular: simply let a few cucumber slices sit in a carafe of water in the refrigerator for a while – and your low-calorie summer drink is ready. For a more flavorful infused water, you can add apple pieces and basil leaves, for example.
lettuce
Leafy salads such as lettuce, lamb's lettuce, and iceberg lettuce are also water-rich foods. Depending on the variety, the moisture content can be up to 95 percent. You can, of course, use them to create a green salad. Or you can combine the crunchy leaves with other water-rich vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumber slices, and radishes for a colorful, varied bowl. This way, you're not only following the current raw eating trend: Raw food dishes such as mixed salads are also incredibly refreshing on hot summer days.
zucchini
Whether baked, grilled, or as zoodles, the low-carb alternative to pasta, zucchini is a popular summer vegetable that can be prepared in a variety of ways. Its water content is approximately 93 percent. This healthy vegetable also provides you with various nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, iron, B vitamins, and vitamin C.
Recipe ideas: smoothies, salads and cooling snacks
A long summer naturally calls for some variety on the menu. Try the following cooling recipes!
Smoothies
- Yellow smoothie: mango, banana, orange, a piece of ginger
- Red smoothie: apples, strawberries, raspberries, lime juice
- Green smoothie: kale, cucumber with peel, pear, orange juice
- Blue Smoothie: Blueberries, frozen banana, almond milk, coconut flakes
- White smoothie: honeydew melon, green apples, banana, (plant-based) milk
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Salads
- Greek Farmer's Salad: Cucumber, bell pepper, tomato, red onions, black olives, feta cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, fresh herbs
- Oriental salad: cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pomegranate, mint, coriander, olive oil, lemon juice
- Ayurvedic salad: bulgur, bell peppers, chickpeas, baby spinach, ghee, olive oil, vinegar, honey, cumin, ginger powder
- Tuna salad: Tuna in oil, corn, tomatoes, peppers, vinegar, oil, possibly hard-boiled eggs
- Fruity salad: arugula, basil, parmesan, strawberries, balsamic vinegar, honey, olive oil, pine nuts
Cooling snacks
- Frozen grapes
- Summer rolls
- gazpacho
- Cucumber cold soup
- Wraps
Electrolytes: Why they are essential in hot weather
When you sweat in the summer heat, your body not only loses fluids, but also valuable electrolytes. These are mineral salts dissolved in water that the body needs in relatively large quantities.⁹ Among the best known are magnesium, sodium, and potassium. These substances regulate the interaction of various organs and tissues, such as the transmission of nerve impulses, muscle contractions, and energy metabolism.
For everything to function smoothly, your electrolyte balance must be balanced. Electrolyte levels that are too low (or too high) can have serious consequences. Possible early signs of electrolyte deficiency can include headaches, fatigue, nausea, digestive problems, blood pressure fluctuations, and muscle cramps. Dangerous symptoms of a life-threatening electrolyte deficiency include cardiac arrhythmias and impaired consciousness, even leading to coma.¹⁰
To prevent this from happening, you should ensure your electrolyte levels are balanced. This is especially important if you sweat heavily in the summer and/or exercise. So make sure you drink enough. Pure (tap) water isn't always the best choice, though, as hyperhydration can disrupt your electrolyte balance.¹¹ You can avoid this by adding a pinch of salt or a splash of lemon juice to your water. Special sports drinks also restore electrolytes such as magnesium, sodium, and potassium to your body. A balanced diet also helps supply your body with these important blood salts. This way, circulatory problems and fatigue don't stand a chance, even in hot weather.
Matcha: The perfect start to hot days
Matcha has been enjoying growing popularity as a coffee alternative for some time now. This is no surprise, since the green tea powder contains not only the stimulant caffeine, but also vitamin C and the antioxidants chlorophyll, quercetin, and phenolic acid.¹² However, the caffeine content in matcha is generally somewhat lower. This means that the drink provides a gentle stimulus and an energy boost without upsetting your stomach or making you hyperactive.
How about a morning matcha ritual? Pour a teaspoon of matcha into a little hot water and stir well. Then pour the tea into a cup with steamed (plant-based) milk and add a little honey or agave syrup to taste. Of course, you can also enjoy your green pick-me-up chilled, as an iced matcha latte. You can find more inspiring ideas for delicious matcha recipes in this blog post .
Mitochondria & Micronutrients: How to keep your energy metabolism stable
You probably remember from biology class at school that mitochondria are the "powerhouses of the cell." And this statement is indeed true, because the chemical reactions of the respiratory chain take place in the mitochondria. With the help of oxygen, energy from food is converted into a form that the cell can use. These oval cell organelles are therefore extremely important for energy metabolism. It's good to know: At high temperatures above 43°C, heat stress can occur, which in turn can damage the structure and function of the mitochondria.¹³
To strengthen your mitochondria and keep your energy metabolism stable even in summer, you should ensure you get enough nutrients. Numerous vitamins, such as vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, and others, are necessary for the respiratory chain in the mitochondria to function properly. In addition, your body needs minerals such as iron, copper, and zinc, as well as various amino acids such as cysteine, methionine, lysine, and arginine. If too few micronutrients reach your cells, for example due to a metabolic disorder, this can lead to an energy deficiency, which usually manifests as a feeling of exhaustion.¹⁴
Recipes & routines for more energy in summer
If you often feel sluggish in the summer, it could be due to your diet. As described above, your mitochondria need various vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to provide sufficient energy. If you're one of those people whose appetite is affected by the heat, try a healthy green smoothie with added protein. This drink provides you with important micronutrients and tastes good even if you're not feeling particularly hungry in the high temperatures.
Later in the evening, when the sun has set and the temperature has dropped a bit, you might still feel a little hungry. Focus on fruits and vegetables, as well as cooling, nutrient-rich dishes like poke bowls, summer rolls, tabbouleh, and iced soups. High-quality nutritional supplements can also help you stay fit in the summer.
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