Health Hotline Magazine | June 2024

What extreme heat does to the body (why is it so dangerous?)

We’ve all been overheated at one time or another, but there is a point when the expo sure to extreme heat becomes dangerous. Sweating profusely for an extended period can lead to dehydration (and electrolyte loss), which can make it harder for the body to maintain normal blood pressure, putting strain on your heart and kidneys. Extreme heat can create more heat inside the body, making it hard for the heart, lungs, and brain to function properly. The most extreme version of this is heat stroke, in which the body’s temperature rises too rapidly and the body is unable to cool down; left untreated, heat stroke can damage organs, and in worst cases, cause them to shut down, leading to death. But most heat-related deaths aren’t caused by heat stroke, but rather, heart attacks or some other cardiovascular event. When our bodies heat up, the heart is the main organ working to cool us down by pumping more blood to the surface of the skin to release excess heat. This extra strain on the heart—especially in those with poor cardio

vascular health or older individuals—can be deadly. Build Your Resilience to Heat

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Of course, there are common sense measures to take to reduce the risk of harm from extreme heat: stay hydrated!; if you can’t be inside in air conditioning, find shade; wear loose-fitting, breathable clothing; don’t exercise or exert yourself in extreme heat conditions (this is especially true for those with existing conditions and older people); and give your body time to acclimate—spend a short time outside in the hottest part of the day for several days to let your body become accustomed to the heat. Beyond these basics, there are other ways we can help our bodies build resilience to heat.

Cool, refresh, and replenish with diet Think of the foods you’d want to eat on the hottest summer day. They are likely light and refreshing, the opposite of the rich comfort foods we crave in the fall and winter months—that’s your body’s wisdom speaking. Listen. Eat the cooling foods! Think salads, fresh veggies and fruit,

and light proteins with cooling herbs like mint and parsley. Avoid inflammatory foods like fried food, refined carbohydrates, omega-6 vegetable oils, heavily processed foods, sugar, and alcohol. Research also points to the importance of supporting a healthy insulin response to help the body better cope with high temperatures and reduce heat-induced damage.

Eliminating, or strictly limiting, those inflammatory foods mentioned will go a long way to support healthy blood sugar and insulin response. Finally, ensuring you include lots of polyphenol-rich foods in your diet can support the health and normal functioning of your hypothalamus, an area of the brain responsible for maintaining body temperature, among other things. Polyphenols are a family of antioxidants found in berries, wine, green and black tea, and other plant foods. Supplements like quercetin and resveratrol are polyphenols too.

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