That one should drink much (more) at tropical-hot temperatures, we have already heard sufficiently often. That warm tea and room-warm mineral water are particularly suitable for this is not exactly a culinary highlight. Nevertheless: We can learn something from the heat experts of the desert, because cool things do not necessarily cool us best. On the contrary, it stimulates the body to produce heat.
Drink in time
When Germany groans under tropical heat, doctors have to treat many people with circulatory problems. At temperatures above the 30-degree mark, the organism must reduce body temperature through copious sweating via evaporative cooling.
If you don’t drink in time and replenish the “sweated-out” minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium or zinc, you will have circulatory problems. And this mainly affects women, whose blood pressure is lower on average.
Enjoy ice cold – better not in summer
However, ice-cold drinks do not help, because they reactively lead to a heat production of the body, which in turn is accompanied by additional heavy sweating. In addition, ice-cold drinks can put a lot of strain on the stomach. Unsuitable to absorb the necessary drinking quantity of 2.5 liters and more are also alcoholic beverages, caffeinated tea and coffee as well as energy drinks.
Coffee and black tea are not thirst quenchers, but stimulants. They increase the pulse rate and have an additional diaphoretic effect due to the caffeine. Alcohol also puts a strain on the circulation and metabolism. Sugary drinks such as cola or lemonade are not thirst quenchers anyway, but -looseners. In addition, the calorie content of 400 to 600 kilocalories per liter does not exactly lead to a crisp beach body.
Like the Bedouins
From the desert peoples we can learn that warm drinks such as fruit tea, which at the same time still contains important minerals, continuously stimulate the cooling sweat production. In contrast, ice-cold drinks provide additional heat production in the body, too hot drinks in turn make us sweat too much. Who likes it sweet, should fall back for the line on calorie-free sweetener. Room-warm mineral water is also good if it contains at least 200 milligrams of sodium and 50 milligrams of magnesium. Drinking water, on the other hand, is relatively low in minerals.
To compensate for salt loss due to perspiration, it can be useful to add a pinch of salt once or twice a day to tea or to vegetables and salad. If you use fluoridated iodized salt with folic acid, you’ll also be helping your thyroid, bones, teeth and blood vessels. Particularly on long car journeys, caution is now indicated.
It is necessary to take a break every one or two hours and drink at least a quarter of a liter of fruit tea with a pinch of salt or mineral water. Otherwise, dehydration or, in the worst case, even thrombosis may occur.
