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What to Eat This Hot Season: 7 Cooling Dishes to Naturally Lower Body Temperature and Beat the Thai Sun

Food22 Feb 2026 10:13 GMT+7

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What to Eat This Hot Season: 7 Cooling Dishes to Naturally Lower Body Temperature and Beat the Thai Sun

What’s good to eat in this intense heat? Here are 7 natural cooling dishes and fruits that help lower body temperature, so you can stay refreshed and healthy under Thailand’s sun.

Amid Thailand’s scorching weather, self-care isn’t just about turning on the air conditioner or taking cold showers. Choosing foods with cooling properties is a traditional wisdom that effectively balances and reduces body heat from within. We have gathered 7cooling food dishesthat are easy to find and healthy to enjoy.

7 cooling dishes to help balance your body and fight the Thai heat

As external temperatures rise, the body tends to accumulate heat, leading to fatigue, irritability, or even heatstroke. Eating foods high in water content or with cooling properties is an important aid.

1. Kaeng Liang with mixed vegetables

A traditional dish rich in herbs and cooling vegetables like sponge gourd, ivy gourd, and bottle gourd. These vegetables contain lots of water and help promote urination and expel body heat effectively.

2. Khao Chae

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A legendary Thai cooling dish featuring rice soaked in chilled jasmine flower water, served with shrimp paste balls and side dishes. It not only refreshes immediately but also helps relieve heat-related stress.

3. Bitter melon (Indian or Chinese variety)

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Though bitter, as the saying goes 'bitterness is medicine,' bitter melon is well-known for detoxifying fever, relieving internal heat, and stimulating appetite during hot weather when eating is difficult.

4. Fresh watermelon

This fruit contains over 90% water. Eating watermelon replenishes fluids lost through sweat and provides lycopene, which nourishes skin damaged by sun exposure.

5. Som Tum (papaya salad) with mild spice

Papaya is a cooling vegetable that aids digestion. However, it’s best to choose a moderately spiced version to avoid increasing body heat from chili peppers.

6. Winter melon soup

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Winter melon is a strongly cooling vegetable that quenches thirst and reduces water retention. Eating hot winter melon soup helps induce sweating and naturally expel body heat.

7. Grass jelly

This herbal dessert from Chinese medicine has cooling properties that relieve internal heat, quench thirst, and reduce heat symptoms caused by prolonged sun exposure.

Choosing cooling foods is only part of maintaining health. The most important thing is to drink enough clean water throughout the day and avoid outdoor activities during peak sun hours, so your body can maintain balance and safely get through the hot season.