Ultimate List of Tips And Tricks to Beat Indian Summer

Day by day, it is becoming difficult to cope up with Indian summer. The days and nights of summer season are getting hotter. And sitting in an air conditioned room 24 hours a day isn’t an option many of us can enjoy. Therefore, all of us need a comprehensive guide to beat Indian summer.

I have compiled everything that can help to beat the heat. And I hope this helps you out.

What to Eat in Summer Season? 

During Summer season, eating habits can not only affect your body temperature but also affect your health. You need to be careful about what you eat and what you don’t. Some kinds of food can make you feel naturally cool and some can even get you dehydrated. Better take care about that. Here are some tips on what to eat during summer.

• Eat light and nutritious food.
• Eat a lot of fresh fruits, especially ones with higher fluid content.
• Eat lots of salads.
• Eat spicy food as that would make you sweat and hence feel cooler.
• Eat a lot of cucumber and lettuce.
• Some of the foods that are must have on regular basis in summer season are: curd (in any form), water melon, coconut water, cucumber, mint, green vegetables, onions, melons and lime water. All these foods are high in water content and help you beat the heat easily.
• Eat food that can be digested easily. This definitely means that you must avoid junk food and non vegetarian food that is high in protein. Grilled red meat or fish is a better option than chicken.
• Things like amla, apricot, mango, corn and cardamom are also beneficial to face the scorching heat of the sun easily.
• Try to eat less salt.
• Tulsi seeds are good at cooling down your body. Add them to your green tea or usual drinks to get the advantage of them.
• Go easy on nuts for they take longer to digest and anything that takes long time to digest is bad in summer.

What to drink in Summer Season?

The most important tip about summer would be to stay hydrated. But some people consider cold coffee a good option and gulp in loads of coffee which eventually makes them feel hot, instead of cool. You need to be careful about your choice of drinks. Here are some tips to help you out!

• Drink cool water but make sure it is not too cool. Cold water makes your blood vessels tighten and that makes you feel hotter.
• Nimbu Paani/ lemonade helps you beat the heat.
• Coconut water contains sugar, fiber, proteins, vitamins & minerals and is therefore a good drink for summer season.
• Drink water kept in earthern pots. It is better than having chilled or refrigerated water.
• Green tea is a really good option to stay cool and healthy in India Summer.
• Try out the local Indian drinks like ragi, lassi etc.
• Some cool and refreshing drinks easily available in India are nimbu paani, coconut water, jaljeera, sweet lassi, chhas/buttemilk, rooh afza, aam panna and piyush.
• Some cool fruits juice that you can have in summer is watermelon juice, musk melon juice, kokum sherbet, mint sherbet, mango juice and sweet lime juice.
• Some ingredients that can further enhance the cooling power of your drinks are holy basil/tulsi, rose petals, rose water, rose petals preserve, sabja seeds, cardamom powder, saffron, almond milk, sattu ka atta and barley water.

What To Wear in Summer Season?

Your clothes can greatly affect your body temperature, only if you knew. Don’t worry. Here are some useful tips on what kinds of clothes you should wear. The ultimate choice is yours though but these are few points that are for your own benefit.

• Light fabrics must be worn during Indian summer.
• Cotton is the most common and comfortable fabric.
• Wear loose clothes.
• Wear light colored clothes as they’re good at reflecting the sunlight and thus, keep you cool.
• Wear aerating shoes so as to avoid sweat and fungus etc.
• Linen is also a good fabric for summer.
• Half sleeves or sleeveless t-shits are good for me. (I would still ask you to wear sunscreen on your expose body parts).
• Prefer open neck t-shirts.
• Avoid jeans. Go for cotton trousers.
• Avoid wearing synthetic clothes, especially tights.
• For ideal protection against sun, wear full sleeved clothes. Avoid shorts.

Skin Care & Makeup tips for Summer Season

Men and women, both go through a lot of skin troubles during summer. Women also have an additional trouble named ‘makeup troubles’. Here are some tips that can help you get rid of both kinds of troubles or at least reduce them as much as possible.

• Avoid using moisturizer if you want a long lasting makeup in Indian summer.
• If you have oily skin, dab some loose powder after doing your usual makeup to make it stay for longer time.
• Skip the foundation or keep it minimal.
• Choose eye pencils over liquid eye liners for they are less likely to get washed away the sweat.
• Don’t wear eyeliner or mascara on lower eye lashes for it might wash off with the sweat and make your under eyes look black, literally black.
• Go for light makeup.
• Waterproof makeup is your last bet if you can’t go with no makeup.
• Pay extra attention to your feet for they’re going to face the harshest things – dust, heat and sweat.
• Store products like stick lipsticks, cream based blushes and eye shadows should be stored in refrigerator unless you want an oily look when you apply them.
• Keep face tissues with you all the time to clean off the dust as soon as possible.
• Keep your makeup brushes clean. Wash them more often as they tend to accumulate more dust during summer.
• Keep your lips protected and moistened.
• To avoid breakouts, wash your face 3-4 times a day. Keep it as clean as possible. And drink plenty of water.
• Stay away from hot styling like curling, straightening to have healthy and frizz free hair during Indian summer.
• Use sunscreen with at least 30 SPF while going outside during summer season in India. This would help avoid rashes and sunburn.
• Food rich in zinc would help you avoid that bad body odour which comes as an unwanted guest in summer. Shell fish, peanuts, almonds, dried watermelon seeds and sprouts are rich sources of zinc. But take them in fewer quantities for they usually make you feel hot.
• Including amino acids that are rich in Vitamin E in your diet would help you retain the health of your hair and make them less frizzy & dry.
• Eating mangoes can help in retaining the smooth skin which all women crave for.

How to keep your body cool?

As I said in the beginning, not everyone is lucky enough to spend 24 hours a day in an air conditioned environment. At such times, it is good if your body is naturally cool. Here are some tips that can help to keep your body cool.

• Drink plenty of water.
• Increase intakes of fluids i.e. try to eat foods that have higher water content. For example, fruits like water melon etc.
• Keep a spray bottle filled with water in refrigerator all the time. Whenever you feel too hot, sprinkle some water on yourself. The evaporation of that water lead to cooling down of your body.
• Eat spicy food. It can help sometimes.
• Try to sweat more. So, instead of using an air conditioner to get rid of sweat, let yourself sweat for feeling cooler naturally.
• Take frequent baths or showers.
• Watch out for what you eat. Look above for what to eat and drink in summer.
• Stay indoors during peak sunlight hours (1 pm to 4 pm)
• Style your hair so that it is away from you face and off from the neck.
• Soak your feet in bucket filled with cold water. This would have a cooling affect on your body for quite some time.

How to keep your house cool without an air conditioner?

I live on second floor which gets too hot to bear during summer season. That’s why I looked for and tried some tips to keep my house naturally cool. Here are some of those that work!

• Hang a wet sheet by a window. This will produce cool air that would blow towards you as the water evaporates.
• Keep windows closed during day time as it is too hot outside then. It will prevent hot air from entering inside your home.
• Open windows and blinds during night.
• Freeze your pillow in the refrigerator and then take it out when you’re about to sleep. Cover it with plastic bags and have a cool night.
• Keep your bedding in the coolest part of your home during day and take out at night for sleeping.
• Use satin sheets.
• Make a DIY air conditioner using fan and a bowl of salted ice water.
• Use light colored fabrics for your home decor. That would make light reflect and keep your house cool.

Tips for being outdoors in Indian Summer

Whether we want it or not, we do need to get out in the killing Indian Summer. These tips can help you to tackle the heat when you’re outside.

• Make sure you have put on a sunscreen before going out. This is applicable to both men and women.
• Try to park your vehicle in shady areas.
• Carry a handheld fan while travelling.
• Use sunglasses to avoid the glare.
• Wear hats or golf caps to keep your head covered. This would help to prevent exposure of your head to direct sunlight. Keep your head covered for sure.
• Always carry a bottle of water with you.

Health Tips for Summer Season

• Summer season brings a lot of disease causing elements which need to be avoided. Here are some important points to avoid getting sick in summer.
• Avoid dehydration with higher fluid intake.
• Don’t eat cut fruits from outside vendors. There are high chances of contamination because of dust and fluids.
• Avoid oily food.
• Eat curd for that will help you get rid of sickness causing bacteria that thrive during summer season.
• Wear sunscreen to avoid sun burns.
• Sugar cane juice is good, even if you are trying to lose weight. It only contains natural sugars which aren’t that harmful.

What to avoid in Indian Summer?

If you haven’t read anything carefully till now, make sure you read at least this part carefully and practice it. It can save you from a lot of trouble. Here’s what you must avoid during summer.

• Avoid caffeinated drinks – coffee, soft drinks etc.
• Avoid alcohol.
• Avoid being outdoors during peak sunlight hours.
• Avoid direct exposure to sunlight during peak hours.
• Avoid wearing dark color clothes.
• Avoid wearing tight clothes.
• Avoid using high makeup.
• Avoid heavy physical exercise (unless you’re trying to reduce weight and have a good air conditioning system to keep you cool).

I think these tips would do a pretty good job to help you beat the Indian Summer. If you have some more tips, do share in the comments.