What's the best thing to eat when it's hot outside?: Your Guide to Staying Cool and Hydrated

October 9, 2025 •

4 min read

Did you know that dehydration can begin long before you feel thirsty? When the temperature rises, adjusting your diet is crucial for maintaining your energy levels, regulating body temperature, and staying hydrated. Knowing what's the best thing to eat when it's hot outside? can make all the difference in how you feel throughout the day.

Quick Summary

Changing your diet in hot weather is essential for health. Focus on water-rich fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and cooling dairy products to support hydration and body temperature regulation while avoiding heavy, oily, and sugary foods that can worsen dehydration.

Key Points

Hydrate with Water-Rich Foods: Incorporate fruits like watermelon and vegetables like cucumber, which are over 90% water, into your diet to supplement your fluid intake.
Prioritize Light, Smaller Meals: Opt for smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day to avoid overtaxing your digestive system and increasing body heat.
Choose Lean Proteins: Select lean, easily digestible protein sources like grilled fish or chicken, or plant-based options such as tofu and lentils, which require less metabolic energy.
Benefit from Probiotics: Include cooling dairy products like yogurt or buttermilk in your diet to aid digestion and provide a soothing effect on your body.
Consider Paradoxical Cooling: Some spicy foods can trigger sweating, a natural cooling mechanism, but ensure you stay extra hydrated when consuming them.
Avoid Dehydrating Beverages: Limit alcohol and high-caffeine drinks, which act as diuretics and can exacerbate dehydration in hot weather.

When temperatures climb, your body works harder to stay cool, a process that can lead to sweating and fluid loss. High heat can also slow down digestion and suppress appetite, making dietary adjustments essential for your well-being. A nutrition plan focused on light, refreshing, and hydrating foods helps regulate your internal temperature, replenish electrolytes lost through sweat, and maintain energy levels.

The Science of Eating in the Heat

Your body expends energy and generates heat during the digestive process. Eating heavy, high-fat, or large meals forces your digestive system to work overtime, which can increase your internal body temperature and leave you feeling sluggish. By shifting to lighter, water-rich, and easily digestible foods, you reduce this metabolic heat production, helping you feel cooler and more comfortable.

Hydrating Fruits: Your Summer Superfoods

Fruits are the champions of summer nutrition, offering high water content, essential vitamins, and natural sugars to replenish energy.

Watermelon: Over 90% water, it's the quintessential hydrating summer snack, rich in vitamins A and C.
Berries: Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries are packed with water, antioxidants, and fiber.
Melons: Cantaloupe and honeydew are excellent sources of hydration and vitamins.
Citrus Fruits: Oranges and lemons provide a dose of vitamin C and antioxidants that have a cooling effect on the body.

Water-Rich Vegetables for a Cool Crunch

Many vegetables are over 90% water, making them perfect for salads, snacks, or infused water.

Cucumbers: With an impressive 96% water content, cucumbers are naturally cooling and excellent for salads or infusions.
Leafy Greens: Lettuce, spinach, and other greens contain a lot of water and are rich in nutrients.
Celery: This crunchy vegetable is over 90% water and contains minerals that aid hydration.
Tomatoes: A versatile summer vegetable, tomatoes contribute to hydration and offer beneficial antioxidants.

Light and Lean Proteins

While protein is important, opting for lean and easily digestible sources prevents your body from expending too much energy on digestion.

Grilled Fish and Chicken: These are lighter on the digestive system than heavier red meats and provide essential protein.
Tofu and Lentils: Excellent plant-based protein options that can be easily incorporated into salads and light meals.

Cooling Dairy and Probiotics

Probiotic-rich dairy products can soothe the gut and have a cooling effect on the body.

Yogurt and Curd: Enjoyed plain, in a smoothie, or as a cooling raita (yogurt with spices and vegetables).
Buttermilk: This low-fat drink is a traditional option for cooling down and boosting hydration.

The Unexpected Benefit of Spicy Foods

In hot climates, many cultures consume spicy foods. The active ingredient in chili peppers, capsaicin, can trigger sweat receptors, and as the sweat evaporates, it helps cool the body. If you choose this method, be sure to stay well-hydrated with plenty of water.

Hot Weather Food Comparison


Recommended Foods	Why They're Better	Foods to Limit	Why They're Worse
Watermelon, Berries	High water content, vitamins, and natural sugars aid hydration and energy.	High-sugar drinks & sodas	Can worsen dehydration by pulling fluids into the gut.
Salads with leafy greens, cucumbers	Over 90% water, low-calorie, and easy to digest.	Heavy red meat	Requires more metabolic energy to digest, increasing body heat.
Greek yogurt, Buttermilk	Excellent probiotics aid digestion and have a cooling effect.	High-fat dairy & cheese	Slows digestion and can generate more body heat.
Grilled fish, chicken	Lean protein is easier to digest than fatty meats.	Alcohol & caffeine	Act as diuretics, causing increased fluid excretion and dehydration.

Simple Recipes for Staying Cool

Cooking less and eating meals that don't require the oven is another excellent strategy for hot weather. Here are some ideas:

Cold Soups: Try a classic gazpacho made with tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers, or a chilled cucumber and yogurt soup.
Hydrating Smoothies: Blend hydrating fruits like watermelon and berries with yogurt or coconut water for a refreshing meal or snack.
Herbal Infusions: Add mint leaves, cucumber slices, or citrus fruit to a pitcher of water for a refreshing and hydrating beverage.
Grain Salads: Cook and cool whole grains like quinoa or farro, then mix with fresh vegetables, herbs, and a light vinaigrette for an easy, filling lunch.

Conclusion: Eating Smart to Beat the Heat

When it's hot outside, your food choices have a direct impact on your comfort and overall health. Prioritizing foods with high water content—like crisp vegetables, juicy fruits, and soothing dairy—provides your body with the hydration and electrolytes it needs to function optimally. By opting for lighter, simpler meals and avoiding heavy, fatty, or sugary options, you can help regulate your body's temperature and maintain your energy levels even on the warmest days. This approach to nutrition is not just about beating the heat but about nourishing your body for a healthier summer season. For more information on using food to stay hydrated, visit Harvard Health.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, surprisingly, high-fat, high-sugar dairy products like ice cream can make you feel hotter as your body works harder to digest them. Lighter, water-based treats like fruit popsicles are a better option.

For light activity, hydrating foods and water are best. Sports drinks are typically high in sugar and only necessary for intense, prolonged exercise when you lose significant electrolytes through sweat.

Yes, drinking hot tea can induce sweating, which helps cool the body through evaporation. This practice is common in many hot climates.

Excellent plant-based protein sources for hot weather include chickpeas (hummus), lentils, quinoa salads, and tofu. They are easy to digest and can be served cold.

Instead of eating less overall, it's better to eat smaller, more frequent meals. This prevents your body from overworking to digest a large meal, which can generate more internal heat.

Limit alcohol and excessive caffeine, as both are diuretics that increase fluid excretion and can worsen dehydration. Stick to water, coconut water, or herbal teas instead.

It is best to have your heaviest meal at a cooler time of day, such as the evening, to minimize the body's digestive effort when external temperatures are at their peak.