Thailand is a hot and humid country, the capital city Bangkok is officially the hottest city in the world, Pattaya is only 150 kilometers from Bangkok and therefore the weather conditions are to a slightly lesser degree the same, hot and sticky.
There are ways to combat the heat and make your stay in Pattaya more pleasurable, one such way is through your diet, you can eat to beat the heat. Eating the right foods will help keep your body hydrated and supply the essential vitamins and minerals needed to aid your cooling system, your immune system, metabolism and protection for your skin.
Eating to beat the heat in Pattaya need not be a chore, the tropical climate of Thailand provides perfect growing conditions for a huge and diverse choice of fruits and vegetables, coupled with the Thai national cuisine and the cosmopolitan dining now available in Pattaya it’s easy to choose just enough of the right food without making any major changes to your diet.
Fruits with a high percentage of water content are perfect for keeping you cool, and the good news is Thailand grows some of the tastiest fruit you will ever eat. You should consider watermelon, it’s packed with vitamin A and C, contains antioxidants and the added bonus, it is about 90 percent water. Other fruits which you can eat to beat the heat, and find easily at any of the Pattaya open markets, supermarkets and hypermarkets are banana, strawberry, apples, peaches, dragon fruit, and being in Thailand we can’t forget the Thai favorites, papaya, mango, rambutan and lamyai. Try the local pineapples, Thailand grows pineapples which literally melt in your mouth.
Citrus fruits are also a great choice to eat to beat the heat in Pattaya, besides their high water content they are rich in vitamin C, and also contain antioxidants such as flavanones and polyphenols, they are good for your digestive system because they help break down fat and also clean your digestive system and make you feel refreshed.
Fruits are an easy option which often require no or minimal preparation, they can be eaten raw, they are portable and they can be transformed into delicious beverages such as smoothies or an alternative meal in the form of fruit salad.
Vegetables, like fruit, contain lots of water, especially green leaf vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach and broccoli. Vegetables are also available throughout Pattaya, they are mostly grown in the northwestern regions of Thailand where the soil is more suitable for growing what we westerners regard as our staple vegetables such as potatoes and carrots. More vegetables with high water content include cucumber, tomatoes, radish and celery. Just about all edible vegetables are beneficial to our health and contain essential vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, vitamin B, iron and calcium, concentrate on vegetables with high water content so you can eat to beat the heat, you benefit by thinning the blood, also aided by antioxidants which in turn helps your body keep cool, and you are also flushing harmful toxins from your body.
Lightly boil or steam your vegetables to avoid losing the essential vitamins and minerals, or try a salad, traditional and Thai salads are available at most restaurants in Pattaya or you can have it delivered to your door.
Herbs not only add flavour to your food, they are full of all the essential ingredients needed to eat to beat the heat, so don’t forget to add some marjoram, dill, basil and mint to your dish.
There is an argument to be had about the benefits of eating spicy food in a hot climate, some people say don’t eat foods which make you feel warm, others say spicy food is good at cooling you down because it makes you sweat, this is usually a result of eating chillies, they contain a chemical called capsaicin which raises the blood temperature, hence you sweat and you are cooled by the evaporation of the sweat. In Thailand the Thai people have been eating spicy food for thousands of years. Thai food usually contains lots of chillies, garlic and ginger, 3 ingredients which are good for your blood and immune system with the added bonus that they can also help prevent mosquito bites. So I will side with the Thai people, they have been coping with the heat and humidity without eating potato pie, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, fish and chips and Irish stew, and did I forget to mention ‘it doesn’t snow very often in Thailand’.
Try a Thai salad such as ‘somtam’ or ‘papaya salad’ you can add spices to your personal taste.
Tip: If you added too much chili to your food and your mouth is burning, try drinking milk, yoghurt, or try a little cheese, alternatively you could try citrus fruits such as orange, lemon and lime, banana is also said to be effective. These work by neutralizing the capsaicin which is what causes the burning sensation.
Other things you can try to beat the heat in Pattaya are, yoghurt, Yakult drinking yoghurt, green tea, and don’t forget to drink lots of water.
Eat small amounts more often, avoid deep-fried foods, avoid large meals and avoid large amounts of meat and protein because they force your metabolic system to work harder which in turn will make you feel hot. Avoid ice cream and ice-cold drinks, they might give temporary relief from the heat but they also make the bodywork hard as it warms up the cold food and drink. Avoid alcohol and caffeine-based drinks, they both cause dehydration.