MILAN - Are there different benefits to drinking hot or cold water? The American portal Healthy and Natural World sheds some light on this curious issue: thanks to an expert, it tried to explain in what circumstances it is important to vary the temperature of the water we drink. According to the documentation, such care goes back even to ancient medical systems such as Ayurveda, which saw the light in India more than 3,000 years ago, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
When to drink cold water
Physical exercise
When we exert our body, the internal temperature of the body rises. Sweating is a mechanism that allows our body to cool down, but we lose a lot of water and electrolytes, which must be replenished. Sipping cold water whilst training, we replenish the water we lost and we cool down our body temperature. A study published by the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition has shown that, amongst the monitored sportsmen, those that drank cold water were able to cool down their internal temperature by 50% more than those who drank water at room temperature.
Fever
Drinking cold water when having fever is also a method to cool the body. Hydrating is also important to help the body's metabolism, which works hard at freeing the body of viruses that might damage our health.
Weight loss
It has been demonstrated that cold water can increase metabolism and help burn around 70 calories more per day. If we consider that, in order to burn 70 calories, a person weighing around 75 kg must walk for 15 minutes, it is clear that a glass of water is a very simple and immediate remedy to obtain the same benefit or extend it.
When to drink lukewarm or hot water
Digestion
Ayurvedic medicine states that drinking hot water in the morning stimulates the digestion. Dr Susan E. Brown states, in addition, that drinking cold water during a meal can have a negative effect on the digestive process. It requires more energy for the body to warm cold liquids and foods, thereby increasing the time needed for digesting and assimilating them.
Detox
When it comes to purifying the body, drinking adequate amounts of water is extremely important. Dr Mark Hyman recommends room-temperature water with a dash of lemon, which also stimulates digestion and favours the elimination of toxins.
Pain relief
Lukewarm or hot water is also recommended when we have to deal with a headache or an inflammation. This is because it stimulates blood flow to the tissues and it is an excellent remedy in treatment of menstrual cramps.
by editorial staff
