Healthy Cooling Foods for Hot Summer Weather

“…When the science of medicine reaches perfection, treatment will be given by foods, aliments, fragrant fruits and vegetables, and by various waters, hot and cold in temperature.”

— Abdu’l-Baha

Preventing Heat Exhaustion with Cooling Foods

Along with all the summer fun comes the heat, which potentially may lead to heat exhaustion and heat stroke especially in the very young and the old. The best way to reduce heat exhaustion/stroke is prevention. It almost goes without saying that hydration, including IV hydration, electrolytes, and staying out of the sun especially between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm, are a must to survive the heat waves. According to Ayurvedic, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Ancient Persian Medicine, partaking of cooling and cold foods during a heat wave reduces the heat within the body, assisting the body in cooling itself internally.

Of course, depending on one’s health condition, even in the heat of summer, cooling foods may not be appropriate for individuals with certain health conditions, so please do consult your Holistique provider for a more personalized evaluation and dietary recommendation.

What Are Cold and Cooling Foods in Traditional Medicine?

Generally, cold and cooling foods are foods which decrease the heat within the body, typically reducing body temperature. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, cooling foods create yin and are indicated for yang constitutions generally. Yin foods given to a yin (weakened or cold) constitution in the yin seasons (autumn and winter) potentially weakens the body, while yin foods in the heat of the summer months given to a yin constitution can be balancing.

Warm and warming foods, on the other hand, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, heat the body, increasing body temperature. Warm foods are yang and are beneficial in yin conditions and may be too warming for yang (hot and strong) constitutions. Because summer heat in the Pacific Northwest tends to be more dry and hot rather than humid and damp, we will focus on cold and cooling foods for dry hot weather which should be balancing for the yin constitutions and cooling for the yang constitutions.

In Ancient Persian Medicine, the constitution of foods depends on their metabolic impact on the body. Too much cold (sard) or too much hot (garm) in relationship to one’s body type can lead to disease or can be used to treat disease. Cold foods create sardi (cold) in the body while garm foods create heat (gram). Sard foods can lead to progression of disease in cold constitutions while garm foods can lead to progression of disease in heated states. Prescribing the correct food type, therefore, can be healing for the correct type of condition. Generally, in the summer heat, cooling foods are indicated for most hot conditions, dehydration, overheating, and heat exhaustion/stroke prevention.

Tolerating Cold Foods in Summer vs. Winter

Some of you may notice that you may be able to tolerate some of these cold foods in the summer but not in the winter. That is because cooling/cold foods may be too cooling for cold yin constitutions during the winter months. During the summer or warm climates, weakened or yin constitutions generally warm up and one’s tolerance improves for the colder foods. Many yin or cold and weakened health conditions often can tolerate these cold foods in the heat of the summer months and not in the winter.

Best Cooling Foods: Yin and Sard Food Lists

Generally, raw fruits and vegetables, and cold temperature fluids and foods are considered cooling. For more on healing with food, see Foods For Depuration & Detoxification. Whether cooked or raw, certain foods are considered cold or cooling.

Some of my favorite cooling foods to enjoy during the dry hot weather include:

Fruit: watermelon, avocado, strawberries, bananas, figs, kiwi, papaya, lemon/lime, and generally raw fruit

Vegetables: Cucumber, seaweed, lettuce, leafy greens, celery, asparagus, radish, zucchini, summer squash

Nuts/Seeds: Coconut, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, macadamia nuts

Grains: quinoa (try it in a Pomegranate Arugula Quinoa Salad), millet, amaranth

Dairy: Greek yogurt, goat cheese

Proteins: Wild cold water fish, egg whites, organic sprouted tofu

*Legumes *(best sprouted): Mung beans, kidney beans, lima beans

Spices/Herbs: Dill, cardamon, coriander, cilantro, fennel, mint, green tea

Cooling Food Recipes and Combinations for Summer

Water infused with cucumber alone or in combination with mint

Water infused with watermelon and mint

Fresh watermelon juice with mint

Mung bean soup cooked with cilantro, coriander, cardamon, fennel, and Himalayan salt. Squeeze a lemon when ready to serve. For another healing soup recipe, try our Breathe Easy Soup.

Cooked and cooled Quinoa salad with cooked lima beans and fresh cucumbers, fresh dill, fresh cilantro, fennel root, and celery topped with olive oil lemon, and Himalayan salt

100% grass-fed Greek yogurt with fresh dill, mint, cucumber, Himalayan salt and black pepper

Organic seaweed with cucumber with sesame seed oil, tamari, lemon or lime, rice vinegar, Himalayan salt dressing

Cod cooked with dill, cilantro, lemon/lime, and Himalayan salt