Five Tips To Sail Through This Summer, Gastronomically

<strong>Five Tips To Sail Through This Summer, Gastronomically</strong>

April is here, and the temperatures are soaring, summer has announced its arrival. As first of our series in offering the Krea community with simple and actionable tips to sail through the summer, we bring to you five commandments from holistic nutritionist,author, and entrepreneur Shiny Surendran.

This summer especially have been predicted to be  intense and taking care of yourself would be important.One good note about this season is we never run out of Vitamin D levels. You might be worried that tanning might be there if you try to get the dose of vitamin D naturally but, to prevent that, you can get the daily dose from the early morning sun. Few of the other tips to manage this burning summer are as follows. 

1. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

Hydration is very essential because due to rise in temperature and humidity, you might be losing a lot of water and electrolytes through sweat. To restore the amount of water lost through sweat, you need to step up your hydration level between 3 to 5 litres. If you are involved in any kind of sports, then your requirements increase furthermore. If you don’t rehydrate yourself, then chances of dehydration symptoms such as poor concentration, lightheadedness, urinary infections, fatigue, and much more can be experienced. The requirements for water can also be met by consuming alternatives such as tender coconut water, fresh fruit juices, diluted buttermilk, rasam, or any infused water.

 2. Eating lighter foods 

Summer season can directly influence the gut. Your body tries to cope the summer by increasing the blood flow which maintains the body temperature. This results in increased blood flow to the intestine as well results in a lot of gastrointestinal discomforts. So, to prevent this. knowing what you should eat is very essential. Avoiding foods that can cause bloating such as foods rich in sugars, dairy and its by-products including cheese and paneer, and any foods with gluten content and improving the consumption of rice, vegetables, fruits, whole meals, legumes can help in reducing the discomfort. 

3. Including plenty of vegetables 

As the risk of dehydration, indigestion and deficiencies for vitamins and minerals increases during summers, eating a variety of vegetables plays a key role. Vegetables not only provide you with essential vitamins and minerals but also helps in meeting your overall fluid requirements as well with the hydration that it has. For example, keerai is a super food as it can give your body with enough iron and folate in addition to helping in hydration. 

4. Including seasonal fruits 

Eating fresh, seasonal fruits are essential as you will be able to enjoy them only during the fruit bearing season. Fruits such as mango, ice-apple, watermelon, kiwi, guava, muskmelon etc can help you to get high amounts of vitamins, mineral and hydration. They not only help in meeting the bodily requirements but also helps to keep your body cool thereby preventing any heat boils from appearing. 

5. Snack smart and avoid unhealthy fats 

As the digestive system is very sensitive during this period, choosing healthy snacks like seasonal fruits, fresh fruit juices, makhana, popcorn (without any toppings), nuts, drinking nut milk such as almond milk or soymilk or coconut milk, etc will have a positive effect. Unhealthy snacking such as deep fried and fatty foods can impact your body in a negative way leading to frequent bowel opening and discomfort, bloating, nausea thereby affecting your daily routine and quality of life. Summer season is a season for a variety of fruits and vegetables. Eating the seasonal foods can itself serve the highest benefits for your body. Additionally, taking frequent oil baths, maintaining hygiene, maintain lifestyle by keeping yourself active, sleeping on time and waking up for an early sunshine can all help you to have a good quality of life, improve concentration and have good energy levels overall. 

Eat fit and stay healthy.

About Shiny Surendran

Shiny is an internationally acclaimed sports nutritionist and is the first Indian to be certified with Graduate Diploma in Sports Nutrition by International Olympic Committee. She is a certified Level 2- Kinanthropometrist from ISAK New Zealand and also an accredited Sports Dietitian from Sports Dietitian Association – Australia. With her profound knowledge in the field of sports nutrition, she has helped 100s of athletes globally, both elite players who have participated in top International Championships as well as young budding athletes, optimize their athletic performance. With her specialisations in sports nutrition, preventive nutrition, Kinanthropometry and Nutrigenomics has helped high profile athletes, celebrities from film industry and several individuals deal with a wide range of nutrition related health problems including competitive athletes and recreational athletes obesity, PCOS, diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, digestive disorders, infertility, food allergies etc.

My Journey to Krea

<strong>My Journey to Krea</strong>

By Rama Vaishnavi Bhogavilli, SIAS Cohort of 2025

Where it all began

“It all started seven months ago when I decided to do an internship that aims to help students find their right career routes and make them aware of the opportunities beyond school. Until then, I neither had much awareness of the prospects outside nor was I aspiring to do anything significant. It was after I undertook this internship that the desire to do something worthy started growing. The career path I wished to choose was still very ambiguous. I interacted with a graduate from the University of Hyderabad and her work truly inspired me, at that time I wanted to study something of the same accord. With a dilemma I had on the path I should choose, I started exploring more options. That is when I heard of the concept of liberal education. It was very new to me and I was barely aware of this field or the universities that encourage this sort of education. I started reaching out and interacting with a diverse set of people and based on the information I received, I was completely convinced that this was the right choice for me.”

Liberal education calling

Being a completely new stream, I wanted to get into the best institutions that encouraged this kind of inquisitiveness in us as learners. During my extensive search, one of my cousins strongly recommended Krea as the best choice for me. I hadn’t heard of the university before but after getting a thorough idea of Krea- the Interwoven Learning, extensive non-academic engagements and more, I was deeply impressed with the way of education here. Social studies is the subject that fascinates me the most and something I wish to pursue down my career path too. I have tried engaging in relevant classes and activities, and I am extremely glad that Krea allows and provides a lot of scope to explore the discipline. We have the opportunity to explore varied ideas and perspectives on the subjects which are multi-dimensional and the internships curated for us at NGOs across the country are very helpful. Another area of my interest is Computer Science which has undoubtedly become one of the most essential disciplines in this technology-driven world. 

New beginnings at Krea

In addition to that, apart from academics, I have always had a keen interest in in different extracurricular activities. The spectrum of such activities offered at Krea through various clubs is wide-ranging and there is something to do, within and beyond the classrooms at all times.  Without much ado, I applied to Krea, and after a the entire process of admissions and eventual joining and orientation, I am now at university. It’s been a month and I thoroughly enjoy each moment of my campus life. I am reassured that I have taken the right decision. Despite the little challenges I face in this new environment, I have people here who are always with me and encouraging me at each step. This is a phase I am delighted to experience.