Summer Tiredness?

Japanese has a word 'natsubate' which hasn't an equivalent in English. My translation is something like 'summer tiredness'.

At first I thought this word was silly! My hometown is MUCH MUCH hotter than Japan but no-one says they are tired because of the heat. Nowadays I truly believe in 'natsubate'. In fact, this week I have been suffering from it!

It is quite hard to explain to those who don't live in Japan. The best way I can describe it is feeling lethargic, often having a headache, no appetite and generally not feeling well.

How to get better? I don't know! Right now it is over 30 degrees and the humidity is high. Some days in the rainy season the humidity is almost 100% and it is really hard not to feel awful :( My solution is to set the airconditioner to 28 degrees and 'dry', try not to go from inside to outside very often, drink lots of water (over 1 liter a day) and eat light but nutritious food. For example, last night's dinner was a green leaf salad with olive oil and lemon juice dressing, green beans, creamy tofu and a half serving of pasta with homemade basil sauce.

Yesterday I skipped breakfast and lunch because I didn't feel well, but I don't think that is a good idea. Even less energy! So this morning I ate a piece of baked sweet potato :)

Maybe we should eat more food like the traditional Okinawan people or people in South East Asia. If you have any good recipes for 'energy food' please tell me.