Eating fresh raw seasonal foods, drinking gazpacho and taking cold creams, changing snacks between meals for fruit and following the mealtime routine are some of the recommendations to combat lack of appetite during the hot months and maintain a good health condition.
With the arrival of summer and rising temperatures, it is common for most people to lose their appetite and eat poorly, warned the professor of Health Sciences at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Gemma Chiva-Blanch , who has stressed that "it is essential to maintain healthy eating patterns also during the summer and holidays."
The teacher, who is a specialist in nutrition and a researcher in endocrinology and nutrition, recalled that children, the elderly and pregnant women are the groups most at risk of suffering the effects of heat, dehydration and a diet deficient in nutrients.
According to Gemma Chiva-Blanch, the heat makes the body require less energy, which results in a lower demand for food, which, together with the change in routines and vacations, "makes us opt for fried foods or foods rich in sugars and fats such as ice cream or alcoholic beverages, caloric and poor in nutrients”.
The result is, in many cases, weight gain at the end of the summer, added to a lack of essential nutrients for health, which can cause diseases to appear or accentuate those already suffered, the specialist has pointed out.
Although we are less hungry, the nutrition specialist has given five tips for not neglecting health and which are "opt for fresh, seasonal and raw foods, such as salads enriched with legumes and pasta or rice" and has indicated that "combined they provide the necessary energy and protein.
Changing the snacks between meals for fruit is another of the pieces of advice given by the expert, who has warned that the beer or ice cream that people tend to eat “refreshes, but they are very caloric”.
For this reason, the teacher has recommended "eating watermelon, which contains 95% water and is a very refreshing option, followed by melon or any other summer fruit, such as peaches, cherries or plums."
Bananas help combat the fatigue we feel when the thermometer rises a lot, and red fruits contain a natural antioxidant, anthocyanin, which lowers blood pressure and helps the body reduce temperature, said the expert, who recalled that the Fruit can be taken plain, but healthy homemade ice creams, slushies and smoothies can also be prepared.
When eating away from home, the specialist has recommended "bearing in mind that fried foods are rich in oils and fats and that often the portions they give us are larger than those we prepare at home".
Finally, Gemma Chiva-Blanch has advised following a routine in summer meal times and avoiding snacking between meals.
