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The next time you grab that scoop and shovel out a bowl of sweet ice cream to cool off on a summer day, how much you consume could make you feel even hotter. “I wouldn’t tell anybody not to have ice cream during the summer. That’s just wrong,” said Tara Marchello, a registered and licensed dietitian with the University of Kansas Health System. “It’s enjoyable. It gives that instant cooling effect in our mouths.” But that’s where the digestion starts. And when we eat something with calories, whether ice cream or food in general, it takes some work to burn off the fats, proteins and sugars. And while the effect is insignificant – unless you were eating nothing but ice cream – it’s not always what we do, but what we’re not doing, too, that affects our body temperature. “Staying hydrated with water as a priority is most beneficial,” Marchello said. “Are you drinking enough no sugar added water?”