20 ways to have a healthier summer: we know what you ate last summer — and drank — and all the other risky things you did. This year, keep safe and fit with these tips

Shape, July, 2002 by Ron Geraci

July and August -- the get-outside-and-let-loose months. The hazy heat makes your inner kid yearn to jump into the ocean, bake on the beach and eat burgers hot off the barbecue. And why not? Tossing caution to the wind is part of the fun.

But it also makes summer a potentially hazardous time for women, a period when you encounter a greater number of risks, including increased exposure to cancer-causing foods, body-dehydrating heat and skin-destroying ultraviolet rays.

This year, play it safe. Follow these 20 simple guidelines to have all the perks of summer, without the perils:

1 corral your long hair into a ponytail or, even better, clip it up on your head when you're grilling your favorite summer vegetables. (The do-it-yourself singe treatment can be very costly.) Another peace-of-mind safety tip: Have a bucket of sand or water within easy reach for firefighting.

GRILLING ADVENTURES

2. Start a barbecue -- not a bonfire. Prevent a flaming disaster: Remember to open the lid on a gas grill before turning on the propane and lighting it. Otherwise, gas will accumulate at the bottom of the grill, inviting a flare. Second, resist the primal urge to squeeze lighter fluid directly onto burning charcoal. The stream could ignite and cause the can to explode in your hands," warns Betty Hughes, director of consumer affairs for barbecue maker Weber-Stephen. Or use a chimney starter or self-lighting charcoal: that's easier and safer. To order a free copy of Weber-Stephen's "Girls' Guide to Grilling," call (800) 474-5568.

3. Don't eat that barbecued meat before you kill the carcinogens. The seared, black char on all barbecued food contains substances called heterocyclic amines, or HCAs, which have been linked to stomach and colon cancer. To reduce HCAs, marinate raw beef, poultry or fish for at least 30 minutes before grilling in an acidic marinade of teriyaki sauce, lemon juice or water mixed with three spoonfuls of sugar and vinegar, says Althea Zanecosky, R.D., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. Don't use tomato-based marinades like barbecue sauce: they may actually increase HCAs. Also, trim off charred meat as if it were fat.

* Fruity tip: Add mashed cherries to the marinade or the ground meat, Zanecosky advises. Studies have shown this to dramatically reduce HCAs, probably because cherries are loaded with antioxidants that prevent the carcinogens from forming.

* Pre-nuke your meat. Heat chicken and hamburger in a microwave oven for two minutes on high. This will precook the meat to reduce the risk of food poisoning and also reduce your grilling time. Important tip: Use fresh lean hamburger; frozen beef can brown quickly and fool you into thinking it's cooked.

* Take its temperature. Use a meat thermometer on every piece of meat you grill -- including the leftovers you're heating today that you grilled, says ADA spokeswoman Cynthia Sass, M.A., R.D., LD. The thickest part of beef or pork should hit 1700 F within five minutes of eating: chicken, 1800 F.

4. Keep an eye on other perishables. If it's 800 F or hotter outside, toss out every perishable item (such as mayonnaise, tuna salad, beef, chicken and other meats or egg-mixed products that can spoil) still on your picnic table after one hour, Sass says.

SCORCHING EXERCISE TIPS

5. Go slow for the first two hot weeks. It takes your body about 10 days to become acclimated to working out in hot weather, says exercise physiologist Alan Mikesky, Ph.D. "Hot, humid environments put more stress on the cardiovascular system," he warns. So go for a healthy break-in period: For the first three to five days, train for only 20 minutes, at around half of your usual intensity: then slowly progress to your normal training intensity. If you are playing a team sport where you can't let up on intensity, take more frequent breaks.

6. Use a heart-rate monitor to avoid going too hard. Exercise at a pace that keeps your heart rate between 55 and 80 percent of your maximum, no more. "If your heart starts beating faster and faster, you may be dehydrated and it's time to stop exercising," says Jill Armayor, director of wellness at the Cooper Aerobics Clinic in Dallas.

7. Get the funk out of that water bottle. To kill bacteria and mold, fill your bottle with water, add 3 teaspoons of white vinegar, shake and rinse clean. 'I noticed my bottle looking dangerous, so now I use a few different ones and run them through the dishwasher periodically," says Sheah Rarback, M.S., R.D., nutritionist at the University of Miami School of Medicine and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. Store your bottle with the cap off. Be lackadaisical here, and the colonies of oral bacteria that thrive in your water bottle may not actually make you ill, but they certainly won't improve the taste of your workout refresher.

8. Strengthen those leg muscles before you strap on your skates. If you'll be in-line skating this summer, add one-legged squats to your gym routine. There's no better move to condition skating muscles, build balance and prevent first-week injuries, says Heather Lacayo, 10-time national in-line-racing champ. Stand on one foot with your arms outstretched for balance and your other leg bent up behind you. Your nose should be aligned with your foot. Squat down and up for five repetitions, then switch legs. "These are tough," Lacayo warns. Start with very shallow knee bends, then go to a full 90 degrees. Work up to 10 repetitions on each leg.