When warm summer days get too hot for comfort, try Nature's ways to cool down instead of reaching for the air conditioner.

How Hot Are You?

The first step is to simply assess how hot you are. If you're only a little warm, you might be able to cool down by drinking a glass of naturally-sweetened lemonade. I like to squeeze a quarter of a lemon and a quarter of a lime in a tall glass of ice water and add a little stevia powder. (For more cool drinks made with natural sweeteners see the Beverages page of sweetsavvy.com

If it's really hot, you'll need to do something more appropriate to the higher temperature. Choose what is right for your need.

Cool Your Body Instead Of The Air Around You

The point here is for your body to be cool. Rather than trying to cool the air to cool your body, focus on what will make your body cooler. Here are some tips:

• Let your body sweat. Perspiration is your body's natural cooling system. Forget about the antiperspirants that prevent perspiration (if you are concerned about body odor, use a natural deodorant--or just plain baking soda--to control odor without controlling perspiration). Your body will produce just the right amount of wetness to lower your body temperature to be comfortable with the surrounding air.
• Wear cool cotton or linen clothing, sleeveless tops and shorts. Dresses and other loose clothing allows air to flow freely against your skin, which cools it.
• Eat and drink cooling foods and beverages such as iced tea, raw fruits and vegetables, fresh juices, ice cream and sorbet (for sugar-free versions, see sweetsavvy.com). Eat spicy foods that are common to countries where the weather is hot--chili peppers will help keep your body cool.
• Fan your body with a paper or cloth fan.
• Shade your body by sitting in the shade, or wear a wide-brimmed sun hat, or carry an umbrella or parasol.
• Stay indoors out of the sun during the day and go outdoors during cool evenings
• Spray your body with a mist of water, which will act like perspiration to cool your body temperature. Carry a small mist bottle with you.
• Take a cold shower or bath, or rub ice cubes all over your body. Immersing your body in a cool body of water, such as a bathtub or swimming pool or pond will reduce body heat deep inside, keeping your body cooler when you get out.
• Go for a walk in a cool forest. Trees provide moisture and oxygen as well as shade.

Drink Plenty of Water

Since your body uses water to regulate your body temperature, you'll need to drink enough water to replace the water you are losing from perspiration. Not just liquids, but water. Don't drink a lot of tap water, though, as you will also be drinking a lot of pollutants. Drink bottled water or water you purify yourself. In very hot weather, it is important to eat salt to help your body retain water so you won't get dehydrated. Natural sea salt is best.

Cool Your Home With Natural Means

There are many ways to cool your home that are in harmony with the natural features of your land and your climate. In the vernacular architecture of the Middle East, for example, buildings had air scoops to catch the cool evening breezes. Here are some ideas:

• Take advantage of the coolness of the northern exposure. Build a cool patio area on the north side of your house. Add tables and chairs so you can perform indoor activities outdoors. I've even hooked up my laptop computer and worked outdoors on my north-facing patio. Also, shade sunny southern exposure windows with curtains or blinds, while opening shady northern exposure windows to let in cooler breezes.
• Plant shade trees around your house. Check with your local nursery for native species that will thrive in your area.
• Use flowing waters, such as including a fountain on your patio or add a waterfall to your garden.
• Open windows, particularly in the evening to fill your house with cool breezes. If it is very hot, open windows only at night, then close them in the morning to retain the cool air during the day.

Minimize The Amount Of Heat That Generated In Your Home

Though heat that conducts through your walls and ceilings from outside air is a major source of heat, short of increasing insulation and weatherizing your home, there are some simple things you can do to minimize heat sources.

First, minimize waste heat that is given off inside your home by lights and appliances. Use energy-efficient appliances and lights, and do your baking and ironing in the evening when it's cooler (or better yet, eat cold foods that will cool your body and require no energy to prepare).

Then, minimize solar heat gain from the sun shining through your windows. Block sun from coming in windows with trees, shrubs, hanging plants, overhangs, windowshades, and draperies.

Use a Fan

Fans, which use much less energy than air conditioners, can be used to simulate nature's cooling concept of breeze when there are no natural breezes.

Use table fans, floor fans, and fans mounted to poles or walls to produce your own "wind chill effect." Oscillating fans with pivoting heads circulate cooling breezes throughout a room. Small desktop fans have the added advantage of blowing mosquitoes away.

Ceiling fans circulate breezes throughout a room, allowing you to raise the thermostat on your air conditioner about 4 degrees F without reducing your comfort. Ceiling fans now cost less than $100, are very easy to install, come in a wide variety of decorator styles and color, and can keep you cool for only pennies a week.

Use exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom to can also quickly remove heat and humidity. But don't leave them on for more than fifteen minutes. A whole housefull of cooled air can be exhausted outside In one hour.

A whole house fan in your attic (or an upstairs window) can be used to pull cool air into your home and blow warm air out, saving up to two thirds of your cooling costs. Even if you have air conditioning, it will pay to use the fan rather than air conditioning when the outside temperature is below 78 degrees F. Using a solar powered fan has the advantage of running on the sun's abundant, nonpolluting, and free energy exactly when you need it to--during the sunniest and hottest part of the day.