The Hot & Spicy Cooling Foods of Summer

In many parts of the world, we’re used to reaching for ice-cold drinks and ice pops to cool us down when it’s hot outside. In India, however, they reach for hot tea or “chai.” It’s not as crazy as it sounds. Sweating—or, more importantly, the evaporation of sweat—is what helps to regulate your body temperature.

A warm drink makes you sweat more, as does sweat-inducing spicy food, thus helping your body cool down. The one caveat is that environmental conditions (think hot and dry) must allow for all of the sweat to evaporate in order to produce a cooling effect