Foods to avoid in summer

Senior representatives of Iran’s Medical Office and the Ministry of Health’s supplement offer some perspectives on summer and hot weather nutrition.

Seyyed Mehdi Mirghazanfari, noting that in Iranian medicine, abstinence comes before treatment, said: To stay healthy in the summer, we must know which foods to avoid.

He added: “In the summer, people with a hot temperament are more vulnerable to injury, because due to their hot temperament and the summer season, the likelihood of danger is higher for these people. Therefore, in this season, all foods and drinks that raise the body temperature and cause dryness should be avoided as much as possible. Especially spicy foods such as pepper and ginger, cinnamon, saffron, hot sauce, mustard, spicy vegetables such as garlic, onion, tarragon, mint, leek, watercress, dill, as well as salty and sweet foods; therefore, it is best to use simple raw or steamed vegetable foods without strong spices and condiments.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Iran and the Office of Complementary Medicine continued: These people should be careful about consuming salt and salty foods and snacks such as salty potato chips, salty nuts, etc. during the summer.

Mir Ghazanfari explained: Most brains have a hot temperament, and all people, especially those with a hot temperament, should not eat in excess. In addition, frying, baking, and roasting can cause hotness, so foods cooked in these ways should not be eaten in excess, and foods should be cooked simply, and if possible, cooked raw or cooked.

He said: The same applies to sweets, because these substances are also hot in nature, so it is not advisable to eat sweets, chocolate, or even sweet foods such as honey, raisins, raisins and other natural sweets, as well as sweet fruits such as figs, coconuts, bananas, melons, pineapples, etc., which should be eaten more in the summer.

An academic from the Army Medical University added: “Red meat should be eaten less in summer, especially because it is high in calories. Especially the meat of birds such as partridge and quail, which has much higher calories than mutton. In addition, camel meat is generally not suitable for consumption due to its high temperature and dryness.”

Mir Ghazanfari, mentioned that it is necessary to avoid irritable foods such as Fesanjan, walnuts and sesame; Recommendations: Use more cool foods in summer (such as cucumber soup, yogurt, cucumber with a little bread, cool vegetables such as cucumber, lettuce, stewed pumpkin (green), coriander, spinach, yogurt, spinach). In addition, it is best to eat foods that are boiled and cooked in summer, not grilled or fried, such as soups, stews, etc., which vegetables are not fried, which beans are few, not a lot of meat, and a little sour, for example, they are prepared with goro, abgore, lemon juice, lemon, orange.

He also considers it useful to consume citrus and sweet fruits, such as barberry and blackberry juice, blackberries, raspberries, sour apples, cherries, green tomatoes, pomegranates, dill, peaches, apricots, watermelon and grapefruit, and recommends: consuming salads (lettuce, cucumbers, lemon juice, etc.) is useful in this season, as they are usually cold in nature. It is also recommended to eat pickles in this season, provided that they are not spicy, in which case the temperature will rise.

Mir Ghazanfari said that consuming enough water, dairy products such as buttermilk and yogurt are also useful during the summer; he said: Eating lime every day during the hot season is very necessary for people with bad tempers. This fruit reduces the body’s heat and humidity as well as internal inflammation of the liver, thins the blood, and helps digest fats, sweets and heavy foods.

He believes that eating white meat is more suitable than red meat in this season, and adds: White meat (such as chicken and fish) has less calories, especially fish, which has a cold and damp nature and is very suitable for this season, provided that it is very red and not too much spicy seasoning should be added.