Prof. Donka Baykova: The summer formula – less calories, double portion of vegetables, fruits and enough water

Getting into shape should not exhaust the body, says the nutritionist

Author: Andrea Draganova

The summer is here and the hottest days of the year are coming. What diet is advisable and suitable for the organism in the heats, what should we choose and what to avoid? Why should we increase the liquids intake and is it right to start getting into shape now? Especially for Tribune.bg talks the nutritionist Prof. Donka Baykova.

“In the hot months of the year, we, the population here in our lands, have a seasonal model of nutrition. Instinctively human organism switches to lighter foods with a lower amount of calories and decreases the intake of the food of animal origin, containing complete proteins and various active substances which are indispensable and essential for the human organism. But exactly during this season we replace them with appropriate analogues,“ explains Prof. Donka Baykova.

Traditionally, during the colder months, we consume more pork meat and meals containing more fat.

During the summer months the Bulgarians prefers less greasy white and yellow cheeses. It is good to consume more yoghurt, cottage cheese, light and fresh cheeses, such as mozzarella, advises Prof. Donka Baykova.

This is also the season of the fish. It is light food and very nourishing too. It is full of vitamins, minerals and good fats. The sea’s and ocean’s types of fish contain as well Omega 3 fatty acids – something important for the comfort of the central nervous system, joints, etc.

All the year the eggs remain in the menu of the typical Bulgarian.

"They contain a complete protein that supports the immune defense of the body, because blood-forming is done by lymphocytes, naturally due to cells of protein nature. In order to have immune protection, we have to take full protein too, generously garnished with vegetables and fruits", advises us Prof. Baykova.

She recommends doubling the amount of vegetables and fruits consumed during the summer.

It is good to choose seasonal, local vegetables and fruits, grown in our latitudes, because then we are able, with the enzymatic setting of the organism, to absorb them completely at most.
"They are rich in both vitamins, minerals that we lose with sweat, and much more water. They are mild and do not load the metabolism", explains the nutritionist.

According to her, carbohydrate foods are also present all year round in the Bulgarian menu. But it's nice to choose lightweight variants.

"The cereals with a little yogurt have an advantage over the oily, salty tarts called banitsi or pies with white cheese, named tutmanitsi and sweet muffins", she said.

The breakfast must be generously garnished with seasonal fruits – cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, sour cherries, pears, the so called Saint Peter’s apples, ripening on 29th of June. All this supports the biological tonus of the person in the warmer months of the year.

"To absorb some of the fat-soluble vitamins in the vegetable salads, we need to add a corresponding amount, but not more than two tablespoons per day, vegetable fat. Whether it is our sunflower oil, rich in tocopherols or vitamin E – antioxidant, or olive oil, nut oil, canola oil, grape seed oil. These are vegetable light fats, which on the one hand enrich the food intake of fat-soluble vitamins, most of which are also with antioxidant effect, and on the others are a source of energy", explains Prof. Baykova.

It is obligatory in summer to increase as well the quantity of liquids.

"Especially for the purposes of water-salt exchange, the intake of liquids is of great importance. Unfortunately, we often expect to feel thirsty before drinking water. Alas, it is considered in modern medical dietetics that

thirst is a belated symptom of dehydration.

We should not allow this to happen because the dehydrated organism in the hot season and at high temperatures is not able to cope with thermoregulation. One dehydration means that the blood circulation cannot balance the ambient temperature and that of the inner environment of the organism", warns Prof. Donka Baykova.

"We know that when the temperature is high, we are redheaded, which means that the superficial blood vessels go to the skin and give warmth. In order to have good circulation, there should also be a good hydration of the body", she adds.

Therefore, it is important to know that coffee has a dehydration effect. Alcoholic beverages also dehydrate. This is why during the daylight hours they are contraindicated, as we lose extra fluids. Prof. Baykova advises alcohol, coffee and caffeine-containing teas – green, black, etc. to be drank with an additional glass of water.

"If during the winter period the adult person should take at least 30 ml. liquids per kilogram of body weight, in the summer it is recommended about 50 ml. per kilogram", specifies the nutritionist.

Liquids should not be either very hot or ice cold

to regulate temperature differences between the inner environment of the body and the ambient temperature. It is good to take herbal decoctions.

"A very good hydrating effect has the so called ayryan, which is a yoghurt shaken in the water, with a pinch of salt, because when we sweat we actually lose water and salts, sodium and potassium. To compensate for the loss of fluids, drinking water should be enriched with a pinch of salt", explains Donka Baykova.

Very good response to this water-salt exchange and maintaining the balance of the human organism is achieved with the intake of vegetable and fruit juices. In this period they help to compensate for the losses and to better cope with the high temperatures.

Prof. Baykova does not recommend drastic diets during hot days.

"Getting into shape is a matter of taking action in time. I would not like to exhaust the organism and have a goal – a fast reduction of the extra kilograms gained during the cold period of the year. Why? This is an additional stress for the body. Moreover, any highly restrictive diet is associated with a risk of "yo-yo" effect. The moment we finish with such a strict restriction, we will gain everything back and we will even make a surplus. Such is the body's reaction. Except that it causes stress, also the immune defense of the body would sharply fall", explains the specialist.

The expert advice of all specialists is first to switch precisely to the discussed light regime, i.e. regular intake of food and liquids – five times during the day, such as the circadian rhythm of man or our physiological attitude.
"It's harder to maintain the weight with a single meal. There must be fuel to ensure burning", emphasizes Prof. Baykova.

"My advice to all who want to be in a good shape is to go first to a low calorie nutrition for a few days in order to adapt the organism. Then take a dietary program of their own choice. If the extra weight is about three or four kilograms, every human can handle it alone. If more, better to consult with a specialist to achieve a permanent effect", advises the nutritionist Prof. Donka Baykova.