4 foods to avoid during a heatwave

Heatwaves can be hard to navigate food-wise. We recently reported on what you should be eating and drinking to stay cool during a heatwave but did not explore what to avoid eating and drinking.

Below we bring you some of the foods that you should try not to eat (or drink) when the weather is too hot.

1. Tea and coffee

If you wish to keep yourself cool and hydrated in the scorching summer heat, avoid or reduce the consumption of hot beverages like tea or coffee. That’s because they tend to increase the overall temperature of the body and disturb the digestive system.

2. Meat

For many of us, when the sun comes out our first instinct is to start warming up the barbecue, but health experts warn that during a heatwave this should be avoided as digesting the protein found in meat requires a lot of energy, creating a heat process called thermogenesis. They warn that we should take it easy on the meat.

3. Spicy foods

We all love the kick of capsaicin, the compound present in spicy foods that causes the burn, but it’s something worth avoiding when the heat outside is already too much to handle. Some studies have proven that capsaicin consumption is correlated with a short-lived increase in body temperature and although it’s only temporary, when the sun is very hot, every little bit counts.

4. Ice cream and lollies

In the same vein as eating spicy food to cool down, eating cold foods can actually warm you up. By decreasing your internal temperature rapidly, your body over-reacts and raises your temperature in response. All said, you’re left hot and bothered again soon after finishing that lovely iced treat.