Summer Health II - Living Healthy through the Seasons.

We’re in the heat of summer and it’s even hotter in the kitchen, who wants to cook? Instead, we rely more on uncooked and chilled foods. Fresh fruits and vegetables, ice cream, smoothies, salads and cold drinks are staples in the summer diet. As refreshing and delicious as these are, eventually they burden the digestive system.

When food enters the body raw and cold, it takes more energy and digestive juices to break it down and reap the nutritional benefits. Watching a Nova episode on PBS, I learned that it takes 40% less energy to digest cooked veggies than raw ones!

If you simply cannot refuse those treats, here are ways to reduce their impact:

1. Spice It Up! Consider adding ginger or cardamom to smoothies; spearmint in iced tea/lemonade; cinnamon or nutmeg to iced coffee and milkshakes. The warming quality of the herbs will ease digestion. Vegetables such as fennel, garlic and basil tossed in a pasta salad add taste and zing. Even tidbits of hot pepper can be appropriate in the summer to balance out the cold – chocolate chili ice cream anyone?

2. Crank It Up! Get some mechanical digestive help by taking digestive enzymes with each meal or smoothie. Digestive enzymes support your body’s natural digestive process. Find a well-rounded enzyme that includes specific enzymes for the various aspects of what you are eating: lipases to break down fat, amylases to break down starches, proteases to break down proteins, etc. These will work better than a more general enzyme such as bromelain (pineapple) or papaya.

3. Heat It Up! In Staying Healthy with the Seasons – Autumn Diet, it was time to bring out the crock pot. In summer, rely on the grill to cook the abundance of fresh veggies available and leave the hot kitchen behind. Be sure and make extra! The leftovers make for a nutritious lunch or dinner (try adding horseradish to mayo for a spicy spread on cold sandwiches).

No matter how you decide to support your digestion, take time to savor meals outdoors with friends and family, enjoying the light and warmth of these fleeting summer months.