Garmi and heatwave diet: what to eat and drink in Pakistani summer
In extreme heat, drink water steadily through the day until your urine is pale, add salt-and-water drinks such as lemon water, lassi or ORS when you sweat heavily, and eat light, water-rich food: kheera, tarbooz, dahi, lauki and daal with chapati. Avoid energy drinks, very sugary sharbat and heavy fried meals. Confusion, a very high temperature or fainting in the heat is an emergency: call 1122.
Who is most at risk in a heatwave
Older people, babies and young children, pregnant women, outdoor workers (labourers, riders, farmers, traffic police), people fasting in summer, and anyone with heart, kidney or lung disease, diabetes or high blood pressure. Some medicines, including water tablets and some blood pressure and mental health medicines, also raise the risk. Check on elderly neighbours and relatives during heatwaves.
How much to drink, and what
- Drink before you are thirsty: a glass every hour while awake, more when outdoors.
- Check urine colour: pale straw is right; dark yellow means drink more.
- When you sweat a lot, replace salt too: lemon water (nimbu pani) with a pinch of salt, plain salted lassi, sattu drink, coconut water or ORS.
- Keep sugary drinks small: sweet sharbat, cold drinks and packaged juice add sugar without replacing salt.
- Avoid energy drinks and keep chai and coffee moderate.
ORS at home (WHO recipe)
If packet ORS is not available, mix in 1 litre of clean, boiled and cooled water: 6 level teaspoons of sugar and ½ level teaspoon of salt. Stir until dissolved. Measure carefully: too much salt or sugar can make diarrhoea worse. Use within 24 hours. Packet ORS made exactly as written on the pack is better when you can get it.
Best summer drinks and foods
| Choose more | Why |
|---|---|
| Water, lemon water with a pinch of salt | Fluid, plus salt lost in sweat |
| Plain lassi, chaach, dahi, raita | Fluid, salt, protein and calcium |
| Sattu drink | Fluid plus protein and fibre; filling for workers |
| Kheera, tarbooz, kharbooza, tomato | More than 90 percent water |
| Lauki, tori, tinda, kaddu, daal with chapati | Light, easy to digest meals |
| Mango, aloo bukhara, aroo in normal portions | Fluid and potassium; one fruit at a time if you have diabetes |
Eat smaller, lighter meals. Large, oily meals and very salty food (namkeen, achaar, fast food) increase thirst and make you feel heavier in the heat.
Food safety in hot weather
Germs grow fastest in warm food. Do not leave cooked food, dahi, raita or milk out of the fridge for more than 1 hour in the heat; reheat leftovers until steaming hot; avoid cut fruit, chaat and drinks with ice from street stalls; and use boiled or filtered water. Summer is the peak season for diarrhoea and typhoid: see the diarrhoea diet and typhoid diet pages.
Heat exhaustion and heatstroke: what to do
| Compare | Heat exhaustion | Heatstroke (emergency) |
|---|---|---|
| Signs | Heavy sweating, headache, dizziness, nausea, cramps, fast pulse, intense thirst | Temperature 40°C or more, confusion, fits, hot and dry or very hot skin, fainting |
| What to do | Move to shade or a cool room, lie down with feet raised, loosen clothes, sip water, lemon water or ORS, cool the skin with wet cloths | Call 1122. Move to shade, pour cool water on the body and fan, put cold packs at the neck, armpits and groin. Do not force drinks if the person is not fully awake |
See a doctor first if
- Body temperature 40°C or more, confusion, fits, fainting or hot dry skin: call 1122 now
- Symptoms of heat exhaustion that do not improve within 30 minutes of cooling and fluids
- You are on a fluid or salt limit for heart, kidney or liver disease
- You have diabetes, high blood pressure or take water tablets (diuretics)
- Babies, the elderly and pregnant women with any heat symptoms
Common questions
How much water should I drink in hot weather?
There is no single number. Most adults need about 2.5 to 3.5 litres of fluid a day in Pakistani summer, and more when working outdoors or sweating heavily. The easiest check is urine colour: pale straw colour means you are drinking enough; dark yellow means drink more. People with heart failure or kidney disease on a fluid limit should follow their doctor's amount.
Should I drink ORS every day in summer?
Not usually. Water and normal meals replace what most people lose. ORS is for diarrhoea, vomiting, or heavy sweating with cramps, weakness or dizziness. Healthy people working long hours in the sun can add a glass of ORS or lemon water with a pinch of salt. People with high blood pressure, kidney or heart disease should ask a doctor before taking extra salt.
Is sattu good in summer?
Yes. Sattu (roasted chana flour) mixed in water with lemon and a pinch of salt or a little jaggery gives fluid, protein and fibre, and keeps you full. Make it fresh and drink it within a few hours.
Is drinking cold water harmful in summer?
No. Cool water is fine and helps you drink more. Very cold water straight after coming in from the heat may feel uncomfortable for some people, but it does not cause illness. Clean, safe water matters far more than its temperature.
Which foods have "thandi taseer" and do they really help?
"Thandi taseer" is a traditional idea, not a scientific one. Foods often called cooling, such as kheera, tarbooz, kharbooza, dahi, lassi and lauki, do help, mainly because they are full of water and are light to digest. Heavy, oily and very salty meals make you feel worse in the heat.
What is the difference between heat exhaustion and heatstroke?
Heat exhaustion causes heavy sweating, headache, dizziness, nausea, cramps and a fast pulse; it usually improves within 30 minutes of cooling down and drinking fluids. Heatstroke is an emergency: body temperature 40°C or more, confusion, fits, hot dry skin or unconsciousness. Call 1122, move the person to shade and cool them with water and fanning while waiting.
What should I eat at sehri and iftar in hot weather?
At sehri, have water-rich food (dahi, kheera, fruit), a chapati with egg or daal, and 2 to 3 glasses of water spread out; avoid very salty and fried food that increase thirst. At iftar, start with water and dates, then lemon water or plain lassi, and keep pakoray and sweet sharbat small. Drink water steadily between iftar and sleep rather than all at once.
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Sources
- World Health Organization. Heat and health: fact sheet
- NHS. Heat exhaustion and heatstroke
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heat-related illnesses
- European Food Safety Authority. Scientific opinion on dietary reference values for water, 2010
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Danger zone (40°F to 140°F)
- World Health Organization. Diarrhoeal disease: fact sheet (oral rehydration)