EATING COOL IN A HOT SEASON

Hydrating, heart-friendly Filipino foods for El Niño — and a few to be careful with

By the H&L Editorial Team

When the heat rises, appetites change. Heavy, oily meals feel unbearable. We reach for cold drinks, halo-halo and anything with ice. That instinct is partly right — the body does need more fluids in hot weather — but some choices hydrate and nourish far better than others.

Foods that help you stay cool and hydrated

Many familiar Filipino vegetables and fruits are mostly water, and they bring vitamins, minerals and fiber along with it:

•       Pakwan (watermelon) and melon — refreshing, naturally sweet and full of water.

•       Pipino (cucumber) — perfect in salads or with a little vinegar.

•       Sayote, upo and patola — light, cheap and easy to add to soups.

•       Kamatis (tomatoes) — great with salted egg or in ensalada.

•       Papaya and dalandan — sweet and hydrating.

•       Soups and broths like tinola, sinigang and nilagang gulay — light meals that also replace water and some salt lost through sweat. Go easy on the bouillon cubes and patis.

Drinks: what to choose

•       Water first. It is still the best drink for hydration.

•       Buko water is refreshing and contains potassium. But people with kidney disease, and those taking certain heart and blood pressure medicines that raise potassium (such as ACE inhibitors, ARBs or spironolactone), should ask their doctor before drinking it regularly.

•       Calamansi or lemon water with little or no sugar is a good alternative to soft drinks.

•       Limit soft drinks, iced tea in bottles, and juice drinks — they’re loaded with sugar.

•       Go easy on coffee and alcohol, which can worsen dehydration.

•       Oral rehydration solution is better than sports drinks for replacing fluids after heavy sweating, illness or diarrhea.

Halo-halo and other cold desserts

There’s no reason to give up halo-halo entirely, but it can contain as much sugar as several soft drinks once you add the sweetened beans, leche flan, ube and evaporated milk. Share one, or make a lighter version at home with fresh fruit, shaved ice and a splash of milk.

Eat light, eat often

Large, heavy meals make the body work harder and generate more heat during digestion. Smaller, more frequent meals with plenty of vegetables and fruit are easier on the body in hot weather.

Food safety

Food spoils much faster in heat. Keep leftovers refrigerated, don’t leave cooked food out for more than two hours, and be careful with dishes containing coconut milk, eggs or mayonnaise.

When food prices rise

El Niño crop losses may push up the prices of some vegetables and grains. Buy what’s in season and locally abundant, stretch meals with legumes like monggo, and grow easy vegetables like kangkong, pechay or talbos ng kamote in pots if you have space.

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A cool-day menu: Breakfast of oatmeal with sliced banana; lunch of tinola with sayote and malunggay over rice; a mid-afternoon snack of chilled watermelon; dinner of grilled fish with ensaladang pipino at kamatis. Water throughout the day. Light, cheap, and kind to your heart.

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