CNN news 2011-07-26 加文本

cnn news 2011-07-26

Hey, I'm Carl Azuz, reporting from Washington, D.C. this week where -- get this -- it is actually hotter than it is 500 miles south in Atlanta, Georgia at cnn's world headquarters! The reason for the sizzlin' is a heat wave that's stretching over the eastern part of the U.S. caused by this high pressure weather system that's expanding across the country.

We've got something for you today, though, that'll hopefully help you cool off. I'm joined by my cnn Newsource colleague Karen Caifa, who's going to talk to us about what to eat to stay cool on the inside while you seek shade on the outside. Right, Karen?

Right, Carl. It's great to have you here, even though it's super hot here in Washington. And when the weather's like this, sometimes you don't really feel like eating. But a nutritionist tells me that it's actually really important that you do, because you want to replenish all the water that you're losing when you're out there sweating it out.

When the weather is hot and sticky, the foods you love may not seem as appetizing. But you can help your body beat the heat by changing your grocery list.

We need to be eating, and we need to be eating light meals, eating often, and we also want to make sure that we replace a lot of the water that we lose when we're sweating.

To replace that water, registered dietitian Rebecca Scritchfield recommends stocking up on fruits and veggies, which are almost all water, and quite nutritious.

Some of the nutrients that you get in dairy foods, you can actually get in vegetables. So, for example, a lot of our leafy green vegetables are a good source of calcium.

Fill your cart with alternative sources of fat, instead of processed or, especially, fried foods.

They're so hot, so hard to digest, with all that extra fat in there. Your best sources of fat in this heat are going to be fat from seeds and nuts and avocados.

And most people know to stay hydrated, but check the labels on flavored waters and other drinks.

A lot of waters are kind of "fancified," and they've got artificial colors and flavors. Some can have more than a day's worth of sugar in just one bottle.

Be sure to check the caffeine content of drinks as well.

And you want to be sure you're not taking in too much caffeine and things like soda and things like iced coffee, because when it's really hot outside and you're working and you're running around, your heart rate can start racing really fast. You want to avoid that, especially in the heat, Carl.

Well, you know Karen, I always resort to ice cream. I usually think, okay, maybe it's not so healthy, but it cools me off. Can I stick with that?

You can stick with that in moderation, like all good things. You know, there's a lot of sugar and there's a lot of fat in some ice cream, so you don't want to eat ice cream 24/7, seven days of the week. You might want to stick with sorbet, or another option that the nutritionist gave us is some frozen fruit. Maybe sticking some watermelon or grapes in the freezer, and then take them out for a nice cool snack.

All right, Karen Caifa. Thanks so much for being with us on cnn Student News.