Summer Hydration: Tips for Staying Cool and Healthy

Summer's high temperature and humidity make us sweat more. Sweat helps us cool down, but it also depletes our water, minerals, a trace of vitamins and fatty acids. That’s why we need to stay hydrated. Besides drinking enough boiled water, we should also diversify our “hydration methods” and replenish our nutrients.

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Warm tea

Warm tea is a refreshing and nutritious summer beverage. Drinking tea not only hydrates, but also provides vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Green tea, in particular, has cooling and thirst-quenching effects, promoting sweating and opening pores, which releases heat from the body. Additionally, drinking tea increases blood flow, leading to increased sweating and more efficient dissipation of heat from the body's core.

It's worth noting that we should avoid drinking tea 2-3 hours before bedtime to ensure a peaceful night's sleep.

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Mung bean soup

Mung bean soup is a refreshing summer drink that can help cool the body, promote fluid balance, and quench thirst. The skin of mung beans contains antioxidants that can relieve summer heat. It's recommended to boil the soup for 10 minutes until it turns green. This is when it has the highest concentration of active ingredients. And the beans can be boiled separately and eaten later. Adults can drink a bowl of mung bean soup 2-3 times per week to gain its cooling benefits.

Please note, people with cold constitutions, the elderly, children, those with weak constitutions, and those with poor gastrointestinal function should avoid drinking too much mung bean soup because of its cooling effect. Drinking it on an empty stomach or in excess may also cause gastrointestinal discomfort.

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Rice soup

Rice soup is a nourishing and appetizing drink that stimulates digestive juice secretion and improves appetite. In summer, it's important to protect the lungs, and drinking rice soup made from grains can help. The blend of water and rice is sweet, easy to digest, and nutritious, benefiting the spleen and stomach. People with poor digestion can benefit from drinking coarse grain rice soup. Millet, oats, and brown rice are rich in B vitamins and trace elements such as calcium, iron, and phosphorus, which replenish the body's nutrients lost through sweating.