When most people are extremely thirsty, the first thing they do is find a glass of nice and cool water. Coldwater can be pleasing, but is it better to drink room temperature water instead? There are many ways to stay hydrated and enhance the benefits of drinking water, and drinking room temperature water can provide you with more health benefits.
Why Does Water Temperature Matter?
Many say that it is best to drink a cup of hot water with a few slices of lemon. This can do wonders to your health and immune system, from jumpstarting the digestion process to boosting metabolism. This little trick also delivers immune-benefitting vitamin C into your system.
The temperature of the beverages you consume for the rest of the day can also determine the rate your cells hydrate, how quickly you cool down after a workout and even the blood flow. The reason athletes are recommended to drink cold water after training is that it helps cool down their body’s core temperature, helping restore equilibrium.
Similarly, Chinese medicine and Ayurveda have a history of using water temperature to help heal a person, recover, and even fight infections. The Ayurveda further shows that besides temperature, the speed and position of drinking, whether standing up or sitting as we sip, too affects the body.
Warm Items Ease Digestive Functioning
According to ayurvedic practitioners, it is not just water, but the temperature of other things we consume that impacts the digestive systems functioning in our body. Drinking cold liquid slows down the digestive system as a whole. It restricts blood flow in the stomach and intestines while also slowing down the enzyme secretion, resulting in a slower metabolism and lymphatic stagnation.
However, the consumption of warm or room temperature water has an exactly opposite effect on the body as it not only increases the blood circulation in the digestive tract but also stimulates ‘digestive fire,’ also known as ‘Agni.’. A weakened ‘Agni’ can result in an upset digestive functioning from interference inadequately processing the food to accumulation of toxins in the body, leading to several diseases.
What’s more, drinking ice-cold water has even been compared to dumping a bucket full of ice over a bonfire, given how it requires extra energy expenditure to keep the digestion process going.