Grief and Heat: - How To Adapt What You Eat
Author: Sabine Horner
Date: 25th June, 2026
Overview: Grief can make eating well and looking after yourself feel difficult in hot weather. Subject Matter Expert Sabine Horner gives guidance on practical ways to nourish your body this summer.
Summer has finally arrived in the UK, and with temperatures reaching 30°C and beyond, it may help to adapt what we eat and drink.
What we eat and drink may need to shift with the heat so that we can better support the body and respond to rising temperatures. What happens in our body may also be influenced by our environment.
Many of us continue eating the same foods and drinking the same things as if the season had not changed. For example, foods that are heavy or harder to digest, such as pizza and pasta, or cold, raw and uncooked meals like salads.
When you're grieving while trying to navigate this heat, your body may be dealing with two pressures at once.
Here's what may happen
Heat causes the body to work harder to cool itself down. Blood may be drawn towards the skin to help regulate temperature, which may affect digestion at a time when grief may already be having an impact.
What often follows may be a confusing mix of symptoms.
You may reach for cooling foods such as cold yoghurt or an iced milkshake thinking they will help, but some people find they are left feeling heavy, bloated or more uncomfortable afterwards.
Your appetite may also change. Sometimes it may disappear completely. At other times it may lead you towards foods that leave you feeling more irritable, sluggish or depleted afterwards.
When you're grieving, your digestive system may already not be functioning at its best. Added summer heat may make this feel even more challenging.
You may notice:
Diarrhoea or loose stools (which may contribute to dehydration)
Irritability or anger that may seem to come from nowhere
Burning sensations such as acid reflux
Cravings for ice-cold drinks
More signs of dehydration, including constipation
Increased fatigue, dizziness or brain fog.
Eat warm, moistening foods
This may sound counterintuitive when it's 30°C and beyond.
However, when digestion is already weakened, some people find that cold and raw foods can ask more of the digestive system rather than support it. Warm, well-cooked foods with moisture are often easier to digest, and may help reduce common issues such as gas, bloating, constipation and acid reflux.
It may also help to choose simple, nourishing meals that require little time or energy to prepare, particularly if you're finding everyday tasks more difficult.
What you eat and drink matters throughout the year. During grief and periods of extreme heat, paying attention to your body's needs may become even more important.
Your body may already be carrying a great deal. It may help to avoid becoming dehydrated, skipping meals, or relying on foods and drinks that you notice your body struggles to process.
In the meantime, try to notice how your body responds to certain foods and drinks.
Everyone's experience of grief is different, so be kind to yourself and do what feels manageable.
If you or someone you know is grieving and looking for support, Ataloss.org directs to bereavement support services across the UK, as well as a growing library of helpful resources for people who are grieving, whoever is bereaved and whoever has died.
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