Page 41 - Seniors Today - April Issue

It might seem like there’s nothing better Peppermint Is Super Cooling
than a cooling ice cream cone on a hot
summer day, but there is.
It turns out the high fat content in ice
cream makes it difficult to digest (it causes
bloating and indigestion). The extra energy
your body uses to digest the ice cream can
actually raise your body temperature a
little bit.
So, if you want to cool down, try a fat-free
frozen dessert like sorbet.

Up Your Vitamin C Intake A glass of peppermint tea is a great way
to make your insides feel cool and tingly,
thanks to menthol, a substance in the plant
that works the opposite way capsaicin does,
instead tricking your body into feeling
cold; to provide both evaporative and
mentholated cooling, so this beverage pulls
double duty.
You can also spray mint tea on your
skin (be careful to cover your eyes and
people who are sensitive should not use
peppermint, as it’s a strong aroma),
Being cooler in the summer could be as
simple as taking your C supplement with Increase Your Fruit and Veggie Intake
meticulous devotion.
Researchers from the University of
Alabama found that vitamin C increases
your tolerance for heat by delaying
sweat gland fatigue, which reduces
the occurrence of heat exhaustion and
prickly heat rash. And research published
in the Journal of Applied Physiology:
Respiratory, Environmental, and Exercise
Physiology, found that vitamin C also
keeps your body temperature from rising If you’re feeling the heat, you might want to
during heat exposure with a dose as small pass up on the meat.
as 250 milligrams. High-protein foods like red meat use up
If you’re looking to increase your vitamin loads of your energy to digest and can
C intake naturally, you’ll find plenty of it raise your body temperature, making you
in oranges, peppers and broccoli and many feel even more uncomfortable than you
more green veggies. already do on a hot summer day. Fruit and

SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #22 | APRIL 2021 41