Drinking water has numerous health advantages, such as increasing metabolism, aiding digestion and supporting organ health. But does drinking cold water offer these same advantages?
Though not as popular as warm water, ice-cold water can still have numerous beneficial effects for your body. But before you dive in, here’s what you should know:
1. It flushes out the toxins
Drinking cold water is an effective way to flush out toxins from your body and strengthens your immune system, keeping you away from infections.
However, drinking cold water has its drawbacks. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) states that it can weaken your stomach and spleen, leading to poor digestion, gastrointestinal issues, bloating, phlegm, and inflammation.
Furthermore, cold water can irritate your digestive tract and esophagus, aggravating certain health conditions like headaches and migraines.
Additionally, constipation and other digestive issues may be caused by IBS.
Drinking enough water is essential for staying hydrated and keeping your body healthy and functioning optimally. Selecting the appropriate type and temperature of water can help you meet your health objectives.
2. It helps you lose weight
According to the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, drinking cold water may actually help you lose weight. This is because while water contains zero calories, your body must warm it up so that it’s at a healthy temperature – which requires energy expenditure.
Though it may seem counterintuitive, this is actually accurate.
Traditional medicine holds that drinking warm water, particularly at the start of the day, helps boost metabolism and facilitate proper digestion. This is because it wakes up your digestive system so it has a better chance at breaking down food you’ve consumed.
It’s essential to remember that drinking cold water can lead to various issues, including bloating and stomach aches. It may even aggravate conditions like achalasia – an issue where the lower esophageal sphincter relaxes more than usual.
Beth Kitchin, PhD and RDN professor of nutrition sciences at University of Alabama Birmingham states that while cold water may help you lose weight by increasing your metabolism, it doesn’t have a major effect. To maximize the effects of your efforts, Beth recommends sticking to a balanced diet and regular exercise for best results.
3. It boosts your immunity
Drinking cold water can increase your immunity by stimulating the body’s natural immune response. This occurs because it places slight stress on your system, encouraging the production of more infection-fighting white blood cells.
Research has even demonstrated that taking cold showers regularly can help protect against the flu and other illnesses. Studies have demonstrated that individuals who frequently take these showers tend to be less prone to getting sick themselves.
However, you should be cautious when drinking cold water if you have a chronic illness or are pregnant. Doing so can lead to various issues such as thickened nasal mucus, respiratory difficulty, headaches, tooth sensitivity and even ‘cold stress’ (the inability of the body to warm itself).
Additionally, drinking cold water may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Indeed, one study suggests that people who drink cold water tend to have lower cardiovascular activity than those who don’t.
4. It gives you an adrenaline rush
Drinking cold water is an effective way to increase your alertness levels. This is because the cold temperature of the water stimulates your adrenal glands to produce more adrenaline.
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is released when your body feels threatened or stressed. It causes the heart to beat faster, increases blood flow to the brain and muscles, and encourages sugar production for energy.
However, this reaction is not always necessary. Some individuals experience an overactive adrenaline response due to anxiety, which could lead to panic attacks.
Anxiety may cause you to feel nervous and restless. Reaching out to a friend or family member about your worries can help bring you some serenity.
Drinking cold water not only keeps you hydrated, but it may even aid weight loss by suppressing appetite and raising metabolic rate.
