What Should I Eat to Decrease My Body Heat? A Guide to Cooling Foods and Drinks

October 21, 2025 •

4 min read

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a person's baseline body temperature can vary by a degree or more throughout the day and in response to environmental factors. To naturally regulate these fluctuations and decrease your body heat, focusing on hydrating and cooling foods can be highly effective.

Quick Summary

This guide explores effective dietary strategies, focusing on water-rich fruits, vegetables, and hydrating beverages that aid your body’s natural cooling processes. It identifies foods that help reduce internal temperature and which ones to avoid for better thermal comfort.

Key Points

Prioritize Hydration: Drinking plenty of water and consuming water-rich fruits and vegetables is the most effective way to regulate body heat and support sweating.
Embrace Water-Rich Foods: Incorporate foods like watermelon, cucumber, leafy greens, and citrus fruits into your diet to boost hydration and aid natural cooling.
Cool with Dairy: Yogurt, buttermilk, and kefir are probiotic-rich and have soothing properties that can help lower body temperature and aid digestion.
Use Cooling Herbs: Mint and cilantro contain compounds like menthol that activate cold receptors, creating a refreshing sensation.
Limit Heating Foods: Avoid heavy, fatty, spicy, and processed foods, along with caffeine and alcohol, as they can increase metabolic heat and cause dehydration.
Consider Paradoxical Spice: In low-humidity conditions, some spicy foods can cause a temporary cooling effect by inducing sweating, but this should be approached with caution.
Create Cooling Meals: Simple meals like salads, cold soups, and yogurt-based dishes are easy to digest and help maintain a comfortable body temperature.

The Importance of Hydration for Body Temperature Control

Proper hydration is the cornerstone of effective thermoregulation. When we get too warm, our body sweats to release heat; this process works most efficiently when we are well-hydrated. Dehydration, conversely, compromises this natural cooling mechanism, causing body temperature to rise. Therefore, the single most important step in controlling body heat through diet is to ensure a high intake of fluids. This means drinking plenty of water, but also consuming foods that have a naturally high water content.

Top Foods to Decrease Body Heat

Water-Rich Fruits

Fruits are an excellent source of hydration, vitamins, and electrolytes, making them perfect for cooling the body. Their high water content helps replenish fluids lost through sweating.

Watermelon: Composed of over 90% water, this fruit is a classic summer cooler that also provides vitamins A and C.
Cucumbers: Often used in salads or chilled soups, cucumbers are over 95% water and contain beneficial caffeic acid.
Melons (Cantaloupe & Honeydew): These juicy fruits are packed with nutrients like potassium and offer excellent hydration.
Oranges and Other Citrus: Rich in vitamin C and water, citrus fruits help refresh and rehydrate the body.
Berries: Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries have high water content and are full of antioxidants.

Cool and Hydrating Vegetables

Vegetables can be just as effective as fruits at cooling the body, especially when eaten raw in salads or blended into juices.

Leafy Greens: Lettuce, spinach, and kale contain a significant amount of water, which is crucial for staying hydrated. They are also easy to digest, which prevents the body from generating excess metabolic heat.
Celery: At around 95% water, celery is a crisp, low-calorie snack that helps replenish fluids.
Radishes: Often overlooked, radishes are another crunchy, water-dense vegetable that can provide a cooling effect.
Zucchini and Bottle Gourd: These gourds are both excellent sources of hydration and can be incorporated into light, cooling curries or salads.

Dairy and Fermented Products

Dairy products like yogurt and buttermilk have long been used in traditional medicine to combat heat due to their soothing and cooling properties.

Yogurt (Curd): A probiotic-rich food that soothes the stomach and aids digestion, it can be eaten plain or blended into a cooling smoothie.
Buttermilk (Chaas): A traditional summer drink, buttermilk is excellent for hydration and digestion.
Kefir: This fermented milk drink is a great source of probiotics and contributes to hydration and a balanced internal system.

Herbs and Spices for Cooling

While some spices are known to increase heat sensation, others have a distinct cooling effect.

Mint (Peppermint & Spearmint): Contains menthol, which triggers cold-sensitive receptors in the mouth, creating a cooling sensation. It can be added to water, teas, or salads.
Cilantro: This fresh herb is a cooling agent that can be used generously in summer dishes.
Fennel: Fennel seeds are known for their cooling properties and can be used to make a refreshing tea.

Surprising Cooling Foods

Counterintuitively, some spicy foods can help cool the body. Eating spicy foods like cayenne pepper or chiles can trigger a sweating response. As the sweat evaporates, it helps to cool you down, though this is most effective in low-humidity environments.

Foods and Drinks to Limit or Avoid

Just as some foods can cool the body, others can generate metabolic heat and exacerbate feelings of warmth, especially in hot weather.

Spicy Foods (in some contexts): While they can induce sweating, eating very spicy foods can make some individuals feel uncomfortably hot and flushed.
Caffeinated and Alcoholic Beverages: Both act as diuretics and can lead to dehydration, interfering with the body's natural cooling process.
Heavy, Fatty, and Fried Foods: These take more energy for your body to digest, increasing internal heat production.
Excess Red Meat: High-protein foods can also increase metabolic heat production during digestion.
High-Sugar and Carbonated Drinks: These can disrupt hydration levels and contribute to increased body heat.

Comparison of Cooling vs. Heating Foods


Feature	Cooling Foods (e.g., Watermelon, Cucumber, Yogurt)	Heating Foods (e.g., Spicy Curry, Fried Chicken, Coffee)
Digestion	Easy to digest, requiring less metabolic energy.	Requires more energy and effort to break down, increasing body heat.
Water Content	Very high, promoting hydration and fluid balance.	Low water content, some beverages are dehydrating.
Nutrient Profile	Rich in vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes.	Can be high in fat, protein, or sugar, impacting metabolic rate.
Effect on Thermoregulation	Supports the body's natural cooling mechanisms, like sweating.	Can hinder or challenge the body's cooling processes.
Best for	Hot weather, hydration, and maintaining an even temperature.	Cooler weather, or when warmth is desired.

Cooling Recipes and Meal Ideas

Incorporating cooling foods can be delicious and simple. Here are a few ideas:

Cucumber Mint Cooler: Blend fresh cucumber, mint leaves, a squeeze of lemon, and cold water for an instantly refreshing drink.
Buttermilk with Cumin: A traditional Indian drink that combines yogurt, water, roasted cumin powder, and a pinch of salt.
Watermelon and Feta Salad: Combine chilled watermelon cubes with feta cheese, red onion, and fresh mint for a light, hydrating meal.
Aloe Vera Juice: Mix fresh aloe vera gel with water and lemon juice for a soothing beverage.
Curd Rice: A South Indian classic, this involves mixing cooked rice with yogurt and tempering it with spices for a light, cooling dinner.

Conclusion

Making mindful dietary choices is a powerful and accessible way to manage your body temperature, especially during hot weather. By prioritizing hydration through plenty of water and water-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, and hydrating dairy, you can help your body's natural cooling systems work more effectively. Conversely, limiting heavy, fatty, and dehydrating foods can prevent an unnecessary increase in metabolic heat. A shift towards a diet rich in light, refreshing ingredients can be the key to feeling more comfortable, energized, and balanced when the heat is on.

NIH.gov - Leptin mediates postprandial increases in body temperature

Frequently Asked Questions

The fastest way to decrease body heat with food is to consume high-water-content items chilled or at room temperature. Examples include eating a cold slice of watermelon, drinking a glass of coconut water, or having a mint-infused cucumber salad.

Yes, spicy foods can cool you down, but the effect is temporary and depends on the environment. The capsaicin in chiles triggers nerve receptors that cause you to sweat. As the sweat evaporates, it provides a cooling sensation, which is more effective in dry, low-humidity conditions.

You should avoid alcohol when overheated because it is a diuretic, meaning it increases urination and can lead to dehydration. Dehydration impairs your body's ability to regulate its temperature, which can make you feel even hotter and increase the risk of heat-related illnesses.

Yes, specific herbs like mint (peppermint and spearmint), cilantro, and fennel are well-known for their cooling properties. Mint's menthol content provides a refreshing sensation, while cilantro and fennel also have a cooling effect.

Drinking cold water helps cool the body from the inside and promotes sweating, which is the body's natural cooling mechanism. It is one of the most effective ways to stay hydrated and regulate temperature in the heat.

No, you don't need to avoid all protein, but it's wise to limit excessive intake of heavy, high-protein foods like red meat. These require more energy to digest, which can increase metabolic heat. Instead, opt for lighter protein sources like fish, yogurt, and tofu.

Yogurt, or curd, is a cooling food due to its high water content and beneficial probiotics. It soothes the digestive system, which reduces the metabolic heat generated during digestion. It can also be blended into hydrating drinks like lassi or buttermilk.