Health And Food Safety In Hot Weather

In the warm weather it's important to think about food safety for families with children. The issues of food and health safety are becoming very important in hot summer weather. As temperature outside is rising, a great environment for growth and development of various bacteria and microorganisms is being formed. Summer weather imposes our health to numerous risks, including dehydration, heat stroke, sunburn, or suffering from food poisoning. These risks can bring to very serious consequences, that is why health and food safety concerns are especially topical in summer.

Summer is the time for vacation, traveling, picnics, other numerous thrilling and amazing outdoor activities. A great deal of people love summer season, but it is necessary to always remember about food and health safety in summer. There are three major health risks we all are exposed to in hot weather:

Dehydration: is a frequent problem is summer, when heat and temperature rises above 45 degree centigrade. Dehydration is a phase, when body loose more water than it consumes or holds. Dehydration can occur due to sunstroke when excess of body fluids are lost due to sun's heat or it can occur due to diarrhoea when body looses excessive body fluids and salts due to loose motions or it can also cause when you do extensive workouts in hot sun. Dehydration can also occur when you have high temperature and body tries to sweat more to reduce the body temperature.

Heatstroke and heat exhaustion can affect anyone: but some people are more sensitive to the heat than others. Elderly people are often the ones at risk because their health may already be frail, and they may be less able to deal with a sudden rise in temperature.

The young are also more vulnerable because they're more sensitive to the sun and prone to dehydration.

People drinking alcohol outside in the sun will also be more prone to dehydration and less aware of the amount of sun they're getting.

Skin burning: With the summer season comes skin tan, skin burning for the sensitive ones, pigmentation of the skin and other sun & heat associated skin issues like fungal infections, excessive sweating, and body odour.

Staying safe in summer, regardless of where you are: enjoying your vacation at the beach, having some healthy vacation time in the mountains, working in your garden or just kicking back in front of your TV, is vital for all of us. Remember that learning as much as possible about health and food safety in hot weather is the best way to reduce the risks for you, your family and your friends.

When thinking about food and health safety in summer season, it is necessary to use common sense and follow very easy guidelines regarding to food choosing, transporting and preserving. The effects of hot summer weather and leaving our foods out for some time causes our foods get broken, and it is usually not easy to feel dangerous bacteria, especially on early stages of the invasion. Below, there are some hot weather food tips for everyone of is concerned for own health and food safety, especially in hot weather.

Food And Health SafetyWhen it is too hot and you do not want to use a stove or oven, go for fresh vegetable salads with tuna fish, olives, eggs, seafood, or pasta, with come olive oil and lemon juice. Also, using fruit salad can be a good idea, you can enrich it with some cottage cheese, nuts, herbs, or seeds.

Try to decrease the time for strong meat even in the fridge, or better buy meat or poultry right before cooking it. Keep cooked and row meat (and other foods) separate, when storing and during the cooking process.

Also, avoid buying cooked meat from unknown sellers because improperly cooked meat gets broken very fast, especially in hot weather (sometimes, just 30-40 minutes can be enough for improperly cooked meat turning into a terrible source of bacteria and toxins).

Be very careful when buying and storing eggs in summer season as this natural food starts to rotten very fast in hot temperatures. Summer is the season when it is very easy to buy stale eggs in most of our markets and stores. Always store your eggs in the fridge, preferably in a closed container.

If you rather go for buying prepared meals but still think about health and food safety of yours and your family, avoid buying salads, pizzas and other ready meals with sauces like mayonnaise, tomato sauce, and others.

Be especially careful when buying dairy products as a great share of food poisoning cases is caused by consuming bad yogurts, milk shakes, etc. Experts say that dairy products are one of the best types of environment for pathogenic bacteria growth.

In summer season, wash your hands, dishes, cutting boards, other kitchenware, counter, kitchen towels and cloths, more often and more thoroughly.

Lack of sleep can make you fat

It turns out that poor sleep, such as from chronic insomnia, disrupts one of our hunger hormones, which can make us fat.
There are many factors that will run down the body, and make you at risk of obesity. Sleeping allows the body to repair itself and combat the day’s stresses. When you feel tired or sleepy, that’s your intelligent body telling you what it needs. Pushing your limits by taking caffeine or other stimulants can cause the body to ultimately break down. Sleep deprivation affects the body much like stress, increasing cortisol levels, distorting thyroid hormone levels, and elevating glucose and insulin. All of these factors contribute to WEIGHT GAIN.

The research explores how lack of sleep can impact appetite regulation, impair glucose metabolism and increase blood pressure.

Sleeping is not a time waster either. When we sleep, the body gets rid of waste products, circulates minerals, vitamins and hormones, and allows the body to naturally defend and repair itself from potential diseases. Since toxins are stored in fat cells, allowing the body to detoxify itself each night as you sleep will improve you ability to lose weight.

The studies revealed how signals from the brain, which control appetite regulation, are impacted by experimental sleep restriction. Inadequate sleep impacts secretion of the signal hormones ghrelin, which increases appetite, and leptin, which indicates when the body is satiated.

"Future research should determine whether efforts to improve sleep can also help prevent the development of these diseases or improve the lives of patients with these conditions".

Health benefits of cold showers

Everybody wants to take a warm shower either in the morning or afternoon for the simple reason that they cannot stand the cold. Don’t you know that bathing with cold water gives you the feeling of freshness and a lot of health benefits? The best way to beat the summer heat is a cold shower, but there are more uses to a cold shower than we realise.

Bathing with cold water freshen your mind in the morning or after a day’s hard work in the warm city. Besides that, cold water can increase metabolism, prevent post-exercise injury and regulate levels of uric acid in your body. There are still other health benefits of having a cold shower.

Male fertility: Very few men may know this fact but heat is bad for your testes, it can potentially lower the sperm count. If you want a child, it's time to shower in cold water, plus you're saving electricity. So next time you visit the sauna you may want to think again.

Blood circulation is increased to get rid of toxin. By the time cold water touches the skin, it reduces blood circulation but at the same time body mechanism increases blood pressure causing the blood to circulate with extra force.

Strengthens Immunity: The most established benefit of cold showers is that overall, they simply increase your chances of fighting off disease and infection. People who take regular cold showers have been shown to have less chance of getting things like:
- Cancer
- Colds
- Flu's
- Haemorrhoids
- Varicose veins

Increases metabolism: When you're cold you reach out for a sweater. Similarly, when your body is cold it automatically generates heat, putting the metabolism into fast gear. That's when carbs and fats are burned to keep you warm.

Avoid sport or workout injuries: After you have over exercised your muscles, that is when they are inflamed and you need them to relax. To improve strength and muscle mass your muscle fibers expand and contract, hence to prevent ruptured fibers due to over training, cold water showers are advised.

Alleviates Depression: Depression is yet another thing that cold showers help and prevent. It is caused by the stimulating effect the cold has on the brains "blue spot", the main source of noradrenaline for our bodies, a chemical that might be used to help alleviate depression.

Additional benefits: Cold showers can decrease chronic pain, reduce body aches, improve your hair health, improve kidney function, reduce swelling and edema, heal and tone skin and regulate your autonomic nervous system.

Cold water and body rhythm: It deepens your breathing. If you're tired, a cold shower will do the trick as it helps to fight fatigue. Can't sleep? A cold shower will help you hit the snooze button. If your hair products are not giving you the desired sheen, try cold water. Who knew cold showers had so many health benefits!

Basic healthy lifestyle habits

Eat less and live longer. Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables as opposed to the same ones all the time.

Drink a glass or two of cold water first thing in the morning to eliminate the bowels. Add more fiber to your diet - one option is psyllium. Dietary fiber is thought to decrease the transit time of food in the colon and to dilute carcinogens, thus minimizing the body’s exposure to toxins.

Drink 4 to 8 glasses of water per day, more in hot weather. Studies indicate that 5 to 8 glasses of water a day helps maintain good health. Water makes up more than 70 percent of solid body tissue and helps regulate body temperature, carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, removes waste, cushions joints and protects organs and tissues. Lack of adequate water intake leads to headaches, grogginess and dry, itchy skin. Severe dehydration affects blood pressure, circulation, digestion, kidney function and nearly all body processes.

Eat more protein and fat at breakfast and lunch, and switch to more complex carbs at night if you have trouble falling asleep. Carbs, such as vegetable soup, pasta, or grains help induce sleep at night.

It's better to eat small frequent meals than two or three large meals, although each person has his or her own routine and schedule and some people may prefer infrequent large meals.

Sleep has a major influence on health — Good sleep enhances libido. See also how to improve sex drive with herbs.

Alcohol such as beer and wine are acceptable in moderation, such as a glass a day.

Dental cleaning and flossing — floss and brush at night before bed. Ideally do so after every meal.

Limit exposure to excessive sun, more than an hour or two a day, in order to avoid wrinkled and damaged skin.

Limit caffeine intake. People who consume caffeine may experience an increase in blood pressure, feel more stressed and produce more stress hormones than on days when they opt for decaf. The effects of caffeine appear to persist until people go to bed, even if they don't consume any caffeine after lunch.