Are you struggling with excessive body heat? Don’t worry! You are landing in the right place. This article will give you 10 simple and effective steps on how to reduce body heat naturally.
Table of Contents
Overview Of Body Heat
The human body is capable of regulating its temperature due to the presence of the Hypothalamus, a gland situated in the brain. The ideal body temperature is 98.6-degree Fahrenheit but it is normal to have fluctuations between 97.8°F and 99.0°F. Responding to external as well as an internal stimulus, body temperatures may increase at any time. The inability of the body to reduce body heat and bounce back into the normal range causes the condition of excessive body heat or heat stress. Going strenuous physical activity, overexposure to sunlight, certain foods, or an underlying illness may cause the body heat levels to rise.
Causes of body heat
Body heat can cause skin rashes, stomach ulcers, mood irritation, sleeplessness, loss of concentration, body strength reduction, and cramps.
Increased body heat can cause discomfort and can even lead to heat emergencies like heat stroke or heat exhaustion. which may call for a visit to the doctor.
Therefore, it is important to know how to reduce body heat with simple methods that do not require medication. But before plunging into these methods, an understanding of how the human body reduces body heat is useful.
How many ways the human body reduces heat?
There are four ways human body reduces the heat.
- Vaporization
- Radiation
- Convection
- Conduction
In simpler words, the body can release the body heat to surrounding matter or pass on the heat to regulate the body temperature.
How to reduce body heat naturally?
Here are the methods on how to reduce body heat and they work through one of the heat transfer ways explained above. You can incorporate them into your daily routine in hot and humid weather conditions to maintain normal body temperature.
Surround yourself with cool air
Once you move away from a heated environment into a cooler one, the body loses heat by convection and the body heat reduces. Move under a shade or use an umbrella when out in the sun and avoid direct sunlight as much as possible.
Get in touch with cool water
Dipping your feet in cool water, swimming, taking a lukewarm bath or even just applying cool water to your skin, will dissipate heat from the body through conduction of the heat. This will bring down your body temperature but be careful of not using excessively cold water.
Avoid Caffeine
Coffee and tea are known to dehydrate the body and it is best to avoid These drinks when experiencing body heat. Instead, opt for drinks that hydrate the body and keep it cool from the inside.
Drink up cool fluids
Intake of fluids prevents dehydration and can help to reduce body heat. Drinking liquids like iced tea, electrolytes, coconut water, lemonades keep your body hydrated in warm and humid conditions. Even the Intake of adequate amounts (8-10 glasses) of water every day is recommended to maintain hydration levels for optimum health.
Alcohol is known to dehydrate the body and its best to avoid alcoholic drinks or exercise moderation.
Wear the right clothes
Clothes that do not allow dissipation of heat can cause body heat especially synthetic clothes that stick to the body. Wearing cotton or light materials will allow easy passage of heat and reduce body heat.
Hydrating Foods
Hydrating food can help your body maintain the heat through proper hydration.
Vegetables like
- cucumber
- zucchini
- aloe vera
- celery
- cauliflower
Fruits like watermelon, strawberry, muskmelons are high in water content.
Leafy vegetables like lettuce, coriander and mint help maintain body temperature due to natural cooling properties. Avoid spicy and oily food in hot weather conditions as they generate body heat internally.
Vitamin C Foods
Vitamin C consumption gives a boost to your metabolism and blood flow which helps to reduce body heat effectively. Oranges and lemons, high in vitamin C content, also help retain moisture in the body.
Home Remedies
Cold milk and honey is a classic and easy home remedy for curing body heat. Another great home remedy includes adding turmeric and almond powder to a glass of milk and gulping it down for instant relief from body heat.
Buttermilk
A healthy dairy drink for summers, buttermilk contains probiotic vitamins and minerals which help regulate the loss of such vitamins and minerals due to sweating. It also aids digestion and keeps your body hydrated in hot weather conditions.
Suggested Read: Top 20 fiber-rich foods to include in your daily food intake
Sandalwood
Sandalwood paste is known to have tremendous cooling properties. Add sandalwood powder to some milk along with rose water and apply the paste on your skin to feel the cooling effects.
Aloe Vera
A must-have cooling agent in the house. Aloe Vera can be consumed internally to reduce the body heat or applied on the skin to provide an instant cooling effect. The best way is to use aloe vera in its natural form but if you don’t have that available, you can source aloe juice and aloe vera skin gel from the market and keep them handy.
Peaches
This fruit is known to reduce body heat naturally and effectively due to the presence of Vitamin A and B2 Potassium which are natural body heat controllers.
Cardamom
Cardamom is an ancient secret that has a lot of health benefits but its benefit in reducing body heat is not commonly known. When taken with other foods, cardamom lowers internal body heat and provides relief from high body temperature.
Avoid movement or exercise
If you are experiencing body heat, try to avoid movement as your body releases heat during movements. Relaxing in a cool environment will help in regulating body temperature quickly. Body heat causes your body to feel weak and it is best to rest at such times.
Sitali breath
Yoga has a solution for all health issues including a simple breathing exercise to reduce body heat and cool down the body. 5 minutes of Sitali breathing will have a cooling effect on the body as well as the mind.
Ventilation
Allow your home to ventilate during dawn or dusk in summers and avoid passage of hot air during day time. Air conditioning helps to provide relief from hot weather but be sure to avoid direct cold air on the body and maintain a steady temperature between 20-22 degrees.
Wind Up Note
Now that you know these multiple simple and effective methods on how to reduce body heat, you can stay active and alive in hot weather conditions. Though body heat is a natural process of the body indicating that something isn’t right, it is best to avoid body heat if possible. It negatively affects your mood, metabolism, blood flow, and overall well-being. A good habit to avoid body heat is to keep a journal of your food and water intake if you have regular body heat issues. This way you can understand if certain what can be the cause of excessive body heat and work towards a solution easily.
While these methods can help you get rid of excessive body heat and associated discomfort, one must be aware of any underlying medical conditions that may be causing body heat.
A thyroid disorder, inflammatory illness, pregnancy, infections, arthritis, leukemia can because of body heat along with many other medical conditions. Women approaching menopause experience hot flashes due to the shifting of hormones. Make sure to get yourself checked by a medical professional if the efforts to reduce body heat do not work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.1 What generates body heat?
Answer: Body heat can be generated by a number of factors:
- Underlying medical conditions
- Smoking & excessive alcohol
- Dehydration
- Hot & humid weather
- Eating spicy and oily food
- Spending too much time under the sun
- Intensive physical exercise
- Tight and synthetic clothes
- Certain medications
Q.2 Is body heat a sign of pregnancy?
Answer: It is a natural phenomenon in female bodies that causes body heat to rise slightly around the ovulation time. This rise in body temperature can last up to the next menstrual cycle but if it remains high beyond that time span, it can be an indication of pregnancy.
Q.3 What is the difference between body heat and fever?
Answer: Body heat refers to the rise in body temperature that may or may not be a fever. While a slight rise in body temperature isn’t a cause of concern, body temperatures above 100.4-degrees Fahrenheit are considered as fever. Fevers are caused by an immune response from the body when a foreign body invaded causing you to become sick.
Q.4 What is the relation between body heat and headache?
Answer: Humid and hot weather with excessive sun exposure can cause body temperature to rise due to dehydration. This dehydration can also lead to headaches as the body loses water and essential salts.
Q.5 Which food items can help to reduce body heat?
Answer: If you are prone to body heat, water is your best friend. Other drinks like coconut water, mint lemonades and pomegranate juice can help you in maintaining optimum levels of water in the body along with leafy vegetables and citrus fruits.
Q.6 What are the effects of body heat?
Answer: Body heat can cause skin rashes, stomach ulcers, mood irritation, sleeplessness, loss of concentration, body strength reduction, and cramps.