The best snacks for hot summer days

Summer is here! Sunny days with 30 degrees and more are wonderful, but also a challenge for our body. It is busy braving the high temperatures. Even if you don't outwardly struggle with the heat and enjoy the bathing weather to the fullest, it's a feat for the cardiovascular system and other organs. For this reason, you should take extra good care of your body and support it accordingly in high temperatures.

Light sports and fitness are also good in summer: regular exercise keeps your circulation going and, in turn, helps you cope better with the exertion of the heat. But everything should be done in moderation: ideally, training should take place early in the morning or late in the evening on hot days, when the air is still a little cooler. In any case, outdoor training should be held in the shade.

Nutrition is sometimes crucial for your well-being on hot days. In order to avoid unnecessary strain on the digestive system, which is one of the largest organs in the body, light and easily digestible food is in demand during the summer months. With the right summer snacks, you can support your body so that you feel good and can remain active despite high temperatures.

By "light cuisine" we mean easily digestible ingredients. What counts and what doesn't? This question can even be answered with your gut feeling. If you like to eat burgers, rolls, pasta or even desserts, you know: it tastes good, but even in cool temperatures it leads to a certain tiredness after eating. The reason for this is the high fat and sugar content, which is a real challenge for our digestion.

However, both fat and sugar are not bad per se: it's the type that counts!

Our body needs fat to run smoothly and to gain energy. What is important is the amount of fat you eat and, even more important, the type of fat. Animal fats, which are contained in meat and sausage products, should be avoided if possible, as well as the so-called trans fats, which are produced by heating during frying or deep-frying. Unsaturated fatty acids, on the other hand, support your body and are valuable sources of energy, especially on hot days - especially if you want to do light functional fitness.

These healthy fats are mainly found in fish and vegetables. The two make a great combination on your plate. For example, a piece of steamed salmon on top of colorful vegetables is a wholesome meal on a heat day.

When it comes to vegetables, avocado makes the running when it comes to healthy fats. 100 grams of avocado contain around 15 grams of unsaturated, healthy fatty acids and plenty of minerals to boot. Olives are also rich in healthy fats. Nuts are considered a real power food when it comes to fats. They are not only suitable as a crunchy topping for summer salads, but also as a snack for those with a sweet tooth. When you get the munchies at work, grabbing a bowl of almonds or coconut chips is much healthier than chocolate bars and the like.

In order for your body to have enough energy for everyday life and training, it also needs protein and carbohydrates in addition to the fats mentioned above. With the latter, it is especially important to choose the healthy variety. There are single-chain and multi-chain carbohydrates, often referred to as "bad" and "good" carbohydrates. Why? The difference in the two is how they affect blood sugar levels. Single-chain carbohydrates, found primarily in white flour products such as pasta and other dough dishes, whip blood sugar levels up quickly, but drop just as quickly, leaving you (hot) hungry again - a spiral that puts extra strain on the body.

In hot temperatures, it is therefore all the more advisable to consume long-chain, complex carbohydrates. These are slowly absorbed into the blood and ensure that your energy store is continuously filled: whole grain products, rice, cereals and potatoes are ideal for building up strength and staying full.

Include about a fist-sized portion of these in your light summer meal. How about a delicious bowl in which you combine whole grain rice with crunchy vegetables? You can also fill whole grain wraps wonderfully with fresh ingredients. You can find a whole-grain alternative for one or the other product, such as pasta or bread, on most supermarket shelves.

The most important element of your diet is water. In order for your body to remain efficient in the heat, it needs a particularly large amount of fluid. As a basis for your daily fluid requirement, you can calculate about 30 milliliters per kilogram of body weight. During physical exertion and in tropical temperatures, this amount must be increased accordingly.

A large proportion of this amount of fluid is absorbed directly by the body through drinking. Drinking actually means drinking water - water without added sweeteners or carbon dioxide. Although lemonade often tastes very refreshing when iced, on closer inspection it usually contains plenty of sugar. If you don't want to drink pure tap water in this large quantity and want to add some flavor to your glass, unsweetened chilled tea is a very good alternative. Fruit juice splashed with several parts of water is also a very good thirst quencher for summer.

Your body also absorbs fluids through food. Build especially water-rich fruits and vegetables into your meals to give it extra support. Many juicy summer fruits consist largely of water: melon, strawberries or pineapple, also served with a portion of yogurt, are perfect as a snack for the small hunger in between. Among vegetables, cucumber, tomato, zucchini and broccoli contain plenty of water, with over 90% each.

With these tips for light summer snacks you will get through the hot days well and fit. By the way, you can also take this gentle diet into the winter months if you want to lose a kilo or two. Enjoy it!