When your home's air conditioning starts to act up in the middle of the summer, it's time to quickly get a repair person from a company like Christian Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. on the phone. A licensed and experienced repair person can visit your home, diagnose the nature of the problem and have you relaxing in the chilly air before long -- in the meantime, though, it's important that you take steps to keep cool. While taking a cold shower and sitting with a freezer pack can help you beat the heat, don't discount the importance of consuming a proper diet in maintaining a cool body temperature. Here are three ways to adjust what you eat to avoid feeling too hot.

Keep Hydrated

Keeping well hydrated is one of the simplest ways to avoid overheating and is especially important when your home is hotter than usual because the air conditioning isn't running. Consistently drinking water throughout the day helps lower your body temperature and reduces your risk of heat stroke and its dangerous symptoms, such as headaches and feeling lightheaded. The Mayo Clinic recommends that men should drink 13 cups of water per day and women should drink nine cups of water per day. If you're excessively hot, however, you can exceed this daily recommendation to compensate for the water you lose through sweat.

Avoid Heating Foods

While you might already shy away from eating hot foods when it's warm in your home, you should also steer clear of foods that can heat you up even when they're not warmed. Spicy foods such as ginger have a thermogenic nature, which means it will warm your body. Likewise, it's best to avoid excessively spicy foods such as hot peppers and hot sauces. Complex carbohydrates such as brown rice are somewhat challenging for your body to digest, which means your body will generate heat to break them down. As a result, eating a cold rice salad can actually make you feel hotter.

Focus On Cooling Foods

While you abstain from heating foods, focus on foods that can decrease your body's temperature. Look for foods with a high water percentage, such as watermelon, cucumbers, pineapples and leafy green vegetables. In general, many fresh fruits and vegetables are ideal to eat for their cooling properties. You can also pair some of these cooling foods with water for a hydrating, cooling beverage. For example, drop a few cubes of cucumber or melon into your glass of water.