Adapting Your Diet to the Change of Season

Wow, the humidity has officially kicked in! For us, you can tell that the humidity is up when the dehumidifier in the basement fills up in less than one day! It is adjusting to the increased moisture in the air by removing more in order to keep things dry.

When summer rolls around in Chicagoland, you’ll find that most people are making some changes. They are bringing out the summer clothes, cleaning out the air conditioner filters, switching from heat to cool on the furnace settings, opening up the windows and letting the breezes in, and cleaning off the fan blades to get ready for another season of warm weather!

But when the warm weather comes around, do any of you consider that you might need to adjust the way you eat? I don’t know about you, but my body is already attempting to acclimate to the warmer weather. Switching my wardrobe is not the only change needed for the summer!

As you know, one of the tests we use here at Caring Medical associated with Diet Typing is the pH of your blood. We consider the pH of your blood to be one of the key indicators of what type of diet is needed. Typically, the more Alkaline the blood is, the more carbohydrates you may need, and vice a versa, the more acidic the blood is, the more protein and fat you may need.

So what does this have to do with summer?
Many things can affect your Blood pH – and temperature happens to be one of them. When body temperature rises, the blood pH also tends to rise. This could mean that someone from the Midwest who received Diet Typing (and blood pH) in December and typed out as an Otter may type out as a Bear in the summer.

One of our faithful Hauser Otter patients recently came back to see our Nutritionist because she was starting to have difficulty with her weight and energy.

She reported that she was strictly following the Otter Diet, eating lots of meat, chicken, and vegetables. She had not had a piece of a sweet item or even fruit for the last 6 months! She noticed that she was getting more tired as the day went on, and was even starting to feel anxious without any apparent reason. She first saw Dr. Hauser who recommended we check her serum blood pH, and that proved to be the key! Our answer lied in her pH! Her pH level back in November was acidic at 7.398. Her current pH level was higher at 7.455, which is alkaline.

Protein containing foods will make your blood more alkaline. The combination of the hot weather and her consumption of protein foods actually caused this acidic patient to become too alkaline. When someone gets too alkaline, they don’t feel right, and one of the most common symptoms is anxiety. So we switched her to a more balanced Bear Diet during the warmer times of the year, which involves adding a little more carbohydrate to her meal plans, in the form of fruit and complex carbohydrates. Since that time, she has felt back to her normal self. Come October/November, she is going to have to start eating more protein and cutting back on the carbohydrates. This becomes especially difficult to do around the holidays, but Otters and Lions really need to stick to it to remain healthy!

If you are an athlete exercising in the heat, please see my recent article on adjusting your diet and intake for your endurance sports during the heat. The more you heat up your core temperature, the more adjustments need to be made. The hotter the weather, the more carbohydrates are needed.

In summary, as the temperature changes, pay attention to the signals your body is sending you. If you notice a change in your health, it may be the food you’re taking in. Getting your blood pH checked can help you determine what Diet Type you should be following in different climates. By having Diet Typing done at two different points in the year you may ward off lingering health problems. Take care of your body this summer by getting an appointment to let us determine your Diet Type!