Nutrition and Hydration Needs in the Summer
According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, women should drink about 11.5 cups of water per day, and men should drink 15.5 on average. However, much of the food we eat contains water, too, so people receive about 20% of their daily water intake through eating. So really, women typically require 9 cups/day and men, 13. Individuals with health conditions or pregnant women may require different levels of fluid intake throughout the day. Speak with your healthcare provider or a dietician at Schneck Nutrition Services to discuss your specific needs.
General rule of thumb: The best way to determine if you are drinking enough water is to check the color of your urine. If it’s a pale yellow, then you’re hydrated. If it’s dark yellow, that’s a signal that you need to drink more water.
Fruits and vegetables that hold a lot of water are also helpful for staying hydrated in the summer. Fruits like watermelon, cantaloupe, and strawberries are great options. Vegetables like cucumber and celery are also great for hydration.
Additionally, most fruits and vegetables are at their peak ripeness in the summer, offering more nutritional value than in their off-season. Take advantage of this and load up the shopping cart with produce the next time you go to the grocery store.
Safe Food Handling and Storage During Summer
You probably travel with food frequently in the summer if you go on road trips or to a friend’s for a grill out. When packing a cooler, it’s mindful to pack it until it’s full, as the items inside will stay cooler longer than if the cooler were only half full. If you’re bringing both drinks and perishable food, bring two coolers—one for drinks and one for perishables. If you plan on leaving the coolers outside, make sure they’re left in the shade. Lastly, place a thermometer in your cooler to check the internal temperature to ensure it doesn’t exceed 40°F. If perishables reach an internal temperature of more than 40°F, bacteria will start to grow and multiply.
When handling food, washing your hands with warm water and soap before and after is imperative. You should also ensure your utensils are clean and always rinse your fruits and vegetables to clean off any dirt or preservatives.
Healthy Grilling Tips
First and foremost, make sure your grill is clean. Char can build up after multiple uses which can transfer to your food. You can remove the grill grates and get them wet, then scatter baking soda on them and leave them to soak for 10 minutes. Then, grab a moist scourer sponge and scrub off the build-up, following it up by wiping excess char off the grates with a paper towel and rinsing them off.
Cooking meats at a high temperature on a grill will create heterocyclic amines, a cancer-causing chemical compound. The excess fat that comes from these meats can drip down onto the grill, creating smoke that has polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, another cancer-causing chemical compound. To prevent these compounds from forming excessively, cook your meat at a lower temperature. It will take longer to cook all the way through, but it’s a safer choice.
Lastly, use separate dishes for raw and cooked meat to avoid cross-contamination. Never place vegetables or anything else on the dishes you used to hold raw meat.
