Is the summer heat driving you up the wall? Do you feel like you are baking every time you step outdoors or worse still, sweating buckets? Are you aching to douse yourself with ice cold water and beat the heat? Sweat err… fret not because we give you a complete guide to help you keep cool while the temperatures rise this summer!

During summer, your body loses maximum amount of water through perspiration. That’s why it becomes even more important to drink loads of water during this season to replenish your store. So if you are used to drinking about eight glasses of water a day, up that to 12! What’s more, include water in your diet through juices, stews and broths.

Binge on fruits like watermelon, grapefruit, pineapple, pears and other citrus fruits that are cooling and have high water content. Have a glass of fruit juice with your breakfast daily. You could also carry a box of fruit salad to work and have it as a mid-day snack. This will ensure you get the maximum nutrients from these fruits.

Apply sunscreen about half an hour before you step out and keep re-applying every three hours or so. Use a sunscreen with SPF 15, or SPF 30 if you are outdoors for long. Choose a sunscreen that suits your skin. For example, if you have oily skin, use an oil-free sunblock but as you get older, move on to a vitamin-enriched one. For working women, a moisturiser/sunblock combination works best.

While they may be a great style statement, sunglasses are a summer necessity. You don’t want to get crow’s feet and wrinkles from all that squinting in the sun, now do you? Invest in a pair that has 100% UV protection and not just fashion value. While you are at it, buy yourself a stylish summer hat to protect your face from the glare of the sun.

As far as possible stay indoors. But if work requires you to step out, opt for a convenient mode of transport (read: your own car or an A/C cab). Also make sure to leave early and return at sunset so that you miss the afternoon sun which is most damaging to your skin. Remember, the 12 to 4pm sun is the worst and can even cause a heat stroke.

Apart from the heat, the dust has been causing throat infections, bronchitis and laryngitis too. So take precautions – hold a scarf around your mouth when traveling and avoid drinking chilled water when you are just back from the outdoor heat. The change in body temperature could affect your throat and voice box. Don’t forget your insect repellents as insect infections and mosquito bites are common in the summer.

There’s nothing like a cold shower on a summer’s day. In fact, you could indulge in two or three showers to cool off. A cooling shower gel (and face wash) with mint or tea tree oil extracts will not just relax you but leave you with a tingly fresh feeling. Just make sure not to stand in front of the air-conditioner just after.

Do u know that simple changes in lifestyle could lower your cancer risks? Being diagnosed with cancer can be the most devastating news you will ever hear. People from all backgrounds and occupations can have cancer. However, if you look behind the mask of its physical symptoms, such as the type, appearance and behavior, you will find that cancer is not as coincidental or unpredictable as it seems to be. There are preventive measures that you can take to prevent this distressing disease from claiming residency in your beautiful life.

One of your best defenses against cancer is to strengthen your immune system. This is where the preventive measures come in. Here are five simple ways you can reduce your exposure to potentially cancer-causing chemicals by strengthening your immune system.

Always Marinate Meat and Poultry

Meats can contain cancer-causing heterocyclic amines, which form when meat is seared at high temperatures. Marinating meat herbs, vinegar and lemon juice before grilling will reduce cancer causing HCA?s as by 96 percent. The marinate sets up a barrier against heat; it draws out chemical precursors of carcinogens from the meat. According to researches, if you do grill, add rosemary and thyme to your favorite marinade and soak meat for at least an hour before cooking can cut HCAs by as much as 87%.

Avoid cell phone radiation

Do you know the excess usage of mobile phones can damage brain cells? The heat produced by the radiation from mobile phones has been found to change the chemical structure of chemicals synthesized in small organisms like worms. Use your cell phone only for short calls or texts, or use a head set, that too in low volume. And also Purchase a phone with a low SAR (Specific Absorption Rate). Studies showed that when people used a cell phone for 50 minutes, brain tissues on the same side of the head as the phone?s antenna metabolized more glucose than did tissues on the opposite side of the brain

Make Sure You are Drinking Filtered Water

Avoid the bleach in your water by filtering it before you drink. And also, home-filtered tap water is a safer bet than bottled water. It is very important to keep water in stainless steel or glass to avoid chemical contaminants such as BPA that can leach from plastic bottles. Unfiltered tap water contains the poisonous chemicals such as nitrate, arsenic, microorganisms, and chemicals. These poisonous chemicals are known to cause at least three types of cancers, among other serious health problems. Report states that the risk of cancer is 93% higher among those drinking chlorinated than those drink filtered water.

Increase Green Intakes

Add lots of green vegetables and leafs in your diet. Try to fix the darkest verities in your salad and make it even greener to ward off or prevent cancerous cells. The chlorophyll that gives them green color is loaded with magnesium, which some large studies have found lowers the risk of colon cancer in women. Even some different compounds in vegetables can kill cancer cells. Researchers have figured out just what broccoli does that helps keep cancer in check. These green vegetables also contain Beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, they are all powerful antioxidants that seem to play a role in blocking early stages in the development of cancer

Include Brazil Nuts

Brazil nuts have an amazing effect on reducing cancerous cells. They are rich form of selenium, a trace mineral that convinces cancer cells to commit suicide and helps cells repair their DNA. Don’t eat them if they have turned yellow, fresh Brazil nuts should be ivory white. Daily intake of Brazil nuts can result 63 percent fewer prostate tumors, 58 percent fewer colorectal cancers, 46 percent fewer lung malignancies, and a 39 percent overall decrease in cancer deaths. They are packed with the mineral selenium, which can help prevent cancer of the liver, lung, stomach, prostate, pancreas, brain, kidney and esophagus by blocking the formation of tumors.